Through Another's Eyes: Book Two
by Amariahellcat
Summary: Thrown through the vortex into Haven City, Tera's story continues to be intertwined with Jak's. But Tera's not a helpless little girl anymore follow Jak's story as he continues to find his way with the aid of his best friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** Hello and welcome to the second 'book' in my Jak rewrite! XD I hope that everyone who read and enjoyed Book One will enjoy Book Two just as much. As most people know, JakII was a much different game then Jak and Daxter, what with the addition of weapons and the depth of the storyline. I have done my best to make sure Tera will fit in with the story, and her sixteen year old self is quite different from how she was in Sandover. Not COMPLETELY different, as it's still Tera, but Haven causes people to change. Just look at Jak; I couldn't have Tera staying the same in a cruel world such as Haven. So, anyways, I hope that everyone will enjoy Book Two! It'll be longer then Book One was, since, after all, JakII is a bigger game, and has more to do. So, without further ado, enjoy! (and if you'd like to see Tera's redesign, I'll send you the link XD)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that comes from JakII. I do own Tera.

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**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

"_For every age, there is a time of triumph. The rocks faced such a fire before they were the strength beneath our feet. The plants braved vast winds before their roots could give us life. As a sage of considerable years, I have known only one such great ordeal, yet the hero it created was a champion for all time…" –Samos Haggai _

**Chapter One: Welcome to Haven**

The sun had just begun to rise over the small village of Sandover, the majority of its miniscule population still sleeping peacefully. The Rift Rider, the great Precursor artifact that had been unveiled after Gol's defeat, sat at the end of a newly constructed ramp beside Samos' hut, the swirling, giant ring that had been found with it floating at the opposite end of said ramp. Tera stepped from inside the hut, her hand on the door's edge as she gazed down at the ancient Precursor technology, a strange feeling fluttering around in her stomach.

Nervousness? No, it was worse then that, much worse. Her hand strayed from the door to brush against her eco ring, securely tied around her waist. Tera hadn't worn it since she had discovered her eco-intolerance, but today, she felt as though she would need it. Her eyes strayed back to the rift rider. Keira stood inside the Rider, gazing at the ring ahead of her with a smile. She had never been one to pass up an opportunity to examine Precursor artifacts, and this was no different. Jak stood to the side of the rider, his foot propped up against it. The teen was calm, as per usual, and showed no hint of worry. Daxter appeared to be sleeping on the metal casing at the front of the Rider, carefree as usual.

Swallowing thickly, Tera moved down the steps, stopping just beside Jak as Samos walked up to them, her friend sparring her a quiet grin before turning back to the sage.

"Today's the big day, Jak," Samos paused, glancing at his daughters before returning his gaze to the teen hero, "I hope you are prepared, for whatever happens."

"I think I've figured out most of this machine," the three turned to look at Keira, the mechanic putting a hand on the back of the rider and looking towards the glowing at the other end, "It interacts somehow with that large Precursor ring." The girl sighed, turning and sitting down behind the consol, "I just hope we didn't break anything moving it here to the lab…"

Jak slid into the machine behind her, attempting to sit close but pushed back when Daxter, having woken up seconds before, popped up between them.

"Easy for you to say!" he quipped, motioning with his head between Jak and himself, "_We_ did all the heavy lifting!"

Tera rolled her eyes at this, sliding into the seat on Jak's other side, a shiver running up her spine from the cold Precursor metal. Daxter's grin returned shortly after, the ottsel reaching out to touch a rounded object stuck into the consol.

"Daxter!" the ottsel recoiled at Samos' voice, "Don't touch anything!" moving to the edge of the Rider and sitting beside Tera (the girl had to move slightly closer to Jak in order for her father to fit), Samos continued, "Though the precursor's vanished long ago, the artifacts they left behind can still do great harm!"

Three sets of eyes rolled at this, and Keira took the opportunity to add "Or great good! If you figure out how to use them."

"I've had some experience with such things," Samos looked back to Jak again, his expression calm, "I know you can make it work."

Jak paused briefly, then, slowly, reached out, pressing against a red gem that was embedded in the precursor metal, the rounded object that Daxter had been so fascinated by before popping out of the consol to reveal a swirling gizmo.

"Looks like Jak's still got the mojo!" Daxter exclaimed, Tera keeping as far from the object as she could while Keira leaned in to take a closer look.

"Interesting," she paused, licking her lips, "It appears to be reading out from preset coordinates." The five jumped when the Rider suddenly jerked, the circular piece of metal attached to it's back beginning to spin, streams of blue eco streaming from the needles to the ring in front of them. The sky darkened suddenly as the ring came to life, breaking away from its supports and floating into the air, continuing to spin as a vortex appeared at its centre.

"Wow…look at that!" Daxter breathed, staring in awe at the spinning metal. Tera felt her body go cold, a sudden rush of _something_ screaming at her to run, only able to hunch herself further into the seat.

"_Finally_…" a rough, sinister voice came from the vortex, "_the last rift gate has been opened!_" the light from the vortex turned sickly purple, black insect like creatures swarming out and over the village as the sky turned black.

"Aaahhhh! What are those things?!" Daxter screeched, hiding behind the control consol.

"So this is how it happened…" Samos mused to himself, watching the creatures swarm and spread.

Roaring from the vortex drew the groups eyes back to it, staring in aghast horror at the terrible creature that appeared there.

"_You cannot hide from me boy!_" it growled, clenching a single muted fist in Jak's direction.

"Do something Jak!" Keira cried, trembling just as much as Tera was.

"What's this do?!" Daxter jumped onto the consol, pushing random buttons, "or this? How bout that?!"

Jak grabbed a hold of the stick in front of him, the Rift Rider snapping into motion and shooting past the monster and into the vortex, flying through what appeared to be a long blue tunnel of energy.

"What was that thing?" Tera gasped, finding her voice for the first time since the monster had appeared.

"Hang on everyone!" Samos exclaimed as the Rider was suddenly jerked violently, rocking rapidly through the tunnel.

"I want off this thing!" Daxter yelled, clutching onto the control consol. A sudden lightning strike shattered the Rider, Keira screaming as she was thrown in a completely different direction then the others.

"Find yourself Jak!" Samos yelled before he also disappeared, thrown in yet another direction. Jak, Daxter and Tera continued to fly forwards through the tunnel, eventually finding themselves completely blinded by a white light.

They landed roughly, Daxter skidding on his stomach with the metal bar he'd been clutching still in his hands. Tera pushed herself up and off her own stomach, coughing slightly from the impact of landing, Jak sitting up and gazing around in confusion. The blonde stood and helped his female companion up, Tera's ears drooping at the metal mass surrounding them.

"W-where are we?" she whispered, Jak casting her a look that told her he was as confused as she was. Daxter stood, glaring at the bar he held, then threw it hard at the ground.

"Ok, I _swear_, that's the last time I ever, _ever_ touch any stupid precursor crap!" Daxter ranted, not noticing the armed men coming up from behind him. Jak spotted them, pushing Tera behind him when one of the men pointed at him and motioned for the others to follow.

"There he is," a metallic voice came from one of the guards, the leader motioning them forwards with two fingers, "move in."

"Step away from the animal," another guard spoke, the others moving to surround the group. Daxter screamed and dived between one of the guards legs, running down the metal walkway.

"Forget the rat," the leader, the only man who wore no face mask, spoke, his voice the only human sounding one of the group, "the baron wants him."

"Hey!" Jak whirled at hearing his friends cry, eyes narrowing at the guards that had grabbed Tera and shoved her back, blocking her way to Jak with their guns. He moved to dash forward and attack, but was knocked onto the ground from behind, his wrists cuffed.

Forced once more to stand, the guards turned him away from Tera.

"Jak!" the girl pushed the guns down so she could see, "What are you doing?! He hasn't _done_ anything!"

"Shut up, girl!" the leader snapped, pausing to look at her, "Although…"

Tera didn't hear the rest of the guards words; she couldn't hear anything. All she saw was the look on Jak's face and the clear message in his eyes. _Run_.

She took his advice, bolting away from the soldiers and after Daxter, ignoring the enraged shouts behind her and the tugging at her heart.

"I'm sorry, Jak," she whispered, not even noticing when Daxter jumped up onto her shoulder from where he'd been hiding. She paused only briefly, spinning to glance back at where the guards and Jak still stood to yell "Don't worry Jak! We'll save you as soon as we can!" before running again, not wanting to be caught by the guards.

Jak watched his friends go with hope; they _would_ save him. He turned to look back at the leader, staring at him defiantly. The red headed man simply grinned.

"We've been waiting for you," were the last words he heard before the butt of a gun was brought down on his head, rendering him unconscious.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Two Years Later_

Muted screams rang through the prison, forcing shivers up the spines of the people locked away in the cells below. On the top floor, in the centre of the room, Jak arched away from the metal table he was strapped to, throat working violently as Dark Eco was forcefully pumped into his system by the machine above him. His eyes constantly opened and closed, his cries having no effect on the Baron or the Captain of the Krimzon Guard, the former pacing back and forth beside the screaming prisoner as the latter stood calmly at the chairs foot, watching with blank eyes.

"_Dark eco injection cycle complete_," a metallic, female voice stated, the black arm that had been spread just behind Jak's head retracting, the purple energy still surging through the teens body, "_Bio reading's nominal and unchanged._" the rest of the machine withdrew from his body as well, leaving the blondes head to slump to the side.

"Bah, nothing," the Baron growled, turning to the Captain with a sneer, "I was informed that _this_ one might be _different_!"

"He is surprisingly resistant to your… _experiments_ Baron Praxis," Errol replied, stepping around the chair, "I fear the Dark Warrior has failed."

The baron growled again, storming back over to the teen and grabbing his hair, forcing him to lift his head, "You should at least be _dead_ with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!" he snarled, releasing his hold.

"What now?" Errol demanded, neither noticing the semi-consciousness of the teen, "Metal head armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever!"

The baron turned his back to him, "I will _not_ be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" he turned on the commander, advancing so that Errol was forced to back up, "Move forward with the final plan!" he motioned to Jak, "And finish off this…_thing_ tonight!"

"As you wish," Errol stepped aside to let the baron pass, then walked back to Jak, tugging at his shirt to get his attention, "I'll be back later." He promised sadistically before following the baron out, the doors slamming closed behind him.

Seconds later, a pack of clothing was tossed up onto the floor of the platform, a hovering mechanism manned by a small, orange ottsel soon appearing.

"Ding ding! Third floor!" Daxter spoke, rising the mechanism higher over the platform, "Body chains, roach food, torture devices!" he hopped off the platform onto the teens chest, motioning around, "Hey buddy, you seen any heroes around here?" looking at the teens face, he straightened immediately, "Whoa! What'd they do t'you?"

Receiving no response, Daxter turned, his ears drooped, "Jak! It's me! Daxter!" when all he received in reply was a quick glance before the teens eyes once more closer, the ottsel planted his hands on his hips, "Well that's a fine hello! I've been crawling around in this place, risking my tail!" he turned, then paused and looked back at Jak, "literally, to save you! I've been looking for you for two years!"

Grabbing onto his friends shirt collar, he pleaded "Say something! Just this once!"

The teen's eyes snapped open, his pupils severely dilated, "I'm gonna _kill_ Praxis!"

"Shhhh!" Daxter hissed, covering his friends mouth with his hand, "right now we gotta get you outta here!" the ottsel straightened, hopping onto the blonde's arm, "just let me figure out how to open the security locks on the chair-"

A scream ripped itself from Jak's throat, his skin paling suddenly to a ghastly white, hair turning grey and his eyes darkening to endless ebony. His skin stretched as muscles expanded, eye-teeth sharpening to fangs and nails becoming long, black claws as horns pushed through his hair. Daxter jumped down onto the ground as his friend-turned-demon ripped his arms and legs free of the metal binding him to the table, purple energy crackling around him.

"Or, uh… you could do it," Daxter gulped, ears pinned back, "Jak? Easy now…" the ottsel took a step towards Jak as the teen swung himself off the table, then backed away slightly when Jak started to advance, "It's… It's your old pal Daxter! Remember?!"

Jak growled, bringing his hand forward to attack, then stopped, stumbling backwards as his skin, hair and eyes faded back to normal, claws returning to blunt nails and horns retreating, "Daxter?"

"What the heck was that?!" Daxter exclaimed, "Sheesh! Remind me not to piss you off!" the ottsel stepped around his friend, motioning towards the main area of the prison, "C'mon, tall dark and gruesome, we're outta here."

Daxter walked alongside his friend when he moved forward, "I'uh, brought you some new threads. Put'em on."

Allowing the blonde to dress, Daxter hopped back up onto his shoulder and pointed towards a stack of crates nearby, "I hope you still remember how to do all those fancy moves of yours, bud."

Jak smirked, nodding. He moved towards the crates and hopped up onto them, heading into the hallway there when he reached the top. Ignoring Daxter when he mumbled something into a small communicator, turning the corner in the hallway and continuing forwards. Roll-jumping to the other side of the gap in the floor, Jak turned into the next room, pausing to look around. The locker room was, thankfully, vacant of any guards, and he moved over to another stack of crates and hopped up, exiting into a more open area.

"Break those crates, Jak, maybe they have something good in 'em!" Jak did as the ottsel said, spin kicking the crates to reveal the contents. A health pack and several small blobs of Dark Eco fell out, the blonde stepping forwards to take the health pack. The dark eco flew from the ground and went straight into Jak's body, Daxter choosing not to comment on this as the warrior turned to look at the next area in front of him.

Jumping up the series of mechanized platforms in front of him, he waited for the last one to lower before hopping onto it and then to the platform on the left. Crouching, Jak sprang into the air and grabbed the edge of the platform, hoisting himself and Daxter up onto it.

"Hold it right there!" spinning at the shout, Jak punched through the key Krimzon Guards that were running at him, dashing forwards and leaping to the next moving platform, waiting then jumping to the next platform and punching out the next guard.

"I don't think the alarm's been tripped, they don't know we're coming!" Daxter exclaimed quietly, Jak nodding.

"Better for us," he grinned, jumping to the pole in front of them and swinging around it once before flying off to the platform above. Continuing on, he hopped onto the moving platform and looked around, trying to locate the way out.

"Behind us, Jak!" the blonde turned and, sure enough, a small opening was right behind the area they'd just come from, the hero jumping into the room and taking care of the two guards that had been unaware of his presence. Jak had to roll jump across two more gaps, then stopped just before a grated area in the floor.

Daxter leaned down to watch his friends face, pulling a confused look, "Jak? Why'd you st-"

"Shh, listen," the blonde cut him off, the two standing in silence.

"I don't hear anything, Jak," the ottsel whispered, Jak frowning.

"I thought I heard… never mind, let's just get out of here," he muttered, moving forwards. As soon as he stepped onto the grated floor, a barrage of gun fire come from underneath them. Cursing, Jak ran forwards, hissing when two shots hit his arms.

Daxter panicked, grabbing his comm. unit and shouting into it, "YO! WE COULD USE A LITTLE HELP HERE!"

Jak barely heard the vaguely familiar voice mumble across the comm., but he breathed a sigh a relief when the shots suddenly stopped, a few surprised shouts sounding before the silence once more encompassed them. Continuing on, though slightly slower due to his wounds, Jak dove through the wooden grate ahead of him and landed in yet another metal hallway, following it then roll-jumping over another gap. Heading towards a corner, the duo paused when the sounds of shooting echoed ahead of them, a couple of enraged shouts sounding before the wall went silent again.

Jak moved forwards silently, stepping out from behind the corner and staring at the sight ahead of him. Two guards lay sprawled out on the ground, a female standing between them with her back towards Jak, two small guns clutched in her hands. Despite the fact that he couldn't see her face, something about this girl seemed familiar to Jak…

"Tera, babe!" Daxter launched himself off Jak's shoulder and hopped up onto the girls, grinning, "Perfect timing, asssss usual!"

"Yah yah, I've always gotta save your butt, Daxter," the girl laughed, her voice exactly the same as it had been yet with a different tone to it. Processing this information, Jak stared at the girls back.

"Tera…?" the blonde turned, facing the warrior. Her eyes were hidden by a pair of goggles much like his own, but her lips twitched slightly before turning down in a frown.

"We're not outta here yet," she stated, moving towards a grate in the floor when Daxter went back to Jak's shoulder, "Almost, but not quite. Can you break this, Jak?"

The male nodded, silent as he had once been, moving forwards and head bashing the grate, falling down onto a metal slide of sorts. Tera followed slightly after, the trio landing in an area filled with water and several boxes and platforms.

"You're hurt," Tera frowned, looking at Jak's arms. He moved to shrug it off, but she turned and, spotting some Krimzon guard crates, aimed her gun and fired, two health packs and several blobs of Dark Eco emerging. She motioned for him to take the health packs, and Jak did so, not even paying attention as the Dark Eco once more merged with his body. Tera stared at him from behind her goggles, but simply shook herself out of it and headed for a stack of metal crates nearby.

"C'mon, we're pretty much out of here," hopping up onto the first crate, Tera swiftly pulled herself up onto the next one then jumped and grabbed the edge of the opening above her, climbing up and onto it.

Jak watched, surprised at how well she handled herself, then quickly followed after, the three soon dropping down into the city street.

"We're free!" Daxter exclaimed, stretching his arms out. Jak was looking at Tera again, the girl inspecting the area for any more guards.

"Tera." At the sound of her name, the girl tucked her guns away in the pouches strapped to her legs, pushing her goggles up onto her forehead and turning to look at her friend with those big, blue eyes Jak remembered. She gave him a lopsided grin.

"Hey, Jak," she spoke quietly, sounding more like the Tera he knew, "Long time no see."

"Yah," he walked forwards, Tera keeping pace with him easily, "Two years is a long time."

"It took us a long time to figure out how to get to you," she murmured, ears drooping just as they had when she was younger, "sorry."

"But HEY, we kept our promise!" Daxter piped up. Yet, despite his reunion with his friends and the regaining of his freedom, Jak couldn't get himself to smile. Rage lay just beneath his skin, rage that demanded to be let out and used against the baron. He turned around in a circle as they walked, gazing around at all of the metal buildings that surrounded them. The group paused when an elderly man approached them, speaking to Jak.

"Hello, strangers, my name is Kor," he paused, stepping in front of Jak, "May I help you-"

"You look like a reasonably smart man," Jak cut him off, advancing on the old man, "I want information. Where the hell am I?!"

Daxter hopped down on the ground, standing beside the kid that had been standing with Kor, "Uh, sorry. He's new to the whole conversation thing," he apologized, Tera stepping forward to stand beside Jak. Even though she could've easily told him where they were, she chose to let the old man answer. Something about him made her feel nervous…

"Well, my angry young friend," Kor brushed off his shirt, "you are a _guest _of his majesty, baron Praxis, the ruler of glorious Haven City."

"I was just a guest in the good baron's prison," Jak spat venomously, crossing his arms.

"Inside a cell or inside the city, walls surround us both. We are all his prisoners!" Tera watched the child that hid behind Kor while the old man was talking, her eyes narrowing slightly. Something about the kid seemed familiar…

Hearing the clink of armor behind him, Kor turned, his expression turning to one of fear, "Speaking of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd move on if I were you,"

He moved to stand behind the trio, the kid following quickly. The Krimzon guards moved closer, Tera's eyes narrowing and her fists clenching at the sight of them. Jak was surprised by her reaction, but his own reaction was almost exactly the same.

"_By order of his eminence, the grand protector of this city baron Praxis, everyone in this sector is hereby under arrest for the suspect of harboring underground fugitives. Surrender and die!_" the leader of the patrol ground out from behind his mask.

"Uh, excuse me, sir," Daxter spoke, stepping forwards, "Don't you mean surrender, _or die_?!"

"Not in this city!" Kor backed further away, keeping the child behind him, "Protect us from these guards, and I'll introduce you to someone who can help you!"

"Bring it on assholes!" Jak stared in surprise when Tera dove into the fray, kicking the guards who came to close. Her attacks had apparently become stronger, but Jak still felt the urge to protect his friend rise up and he rushed in after her, taking out guards in a flurry of action.

After bringing down several, a sudden roar ripped itself from Jak's lips, dark energy rippling around him as his skin and hair once more faded to white and grey, eyes and claws blacker then night. The demon roared when a pack of the KG's surrounded Tera, flying into a raged fury and slicing mercilessly through the red armored soldiers. When all of the guards had been dispersed, and only Tera stood in front of him, Jak felt the rage sink back into his skin, his normal colours returning as the dark creature went back to sleep.

"That was cool!" Daxter exclaimed, standing in front of his friend, "do it again!"

"Jak?" Tera questioned quietly, stepping towards him, "Are you alright?"

"Something's… happening to me…" he ground out, clenching his fists, "something he did… I can't… control it…"

"Very impressive," Kor commented, raising a hand to his chin.

"Uh, you ok Jak?" Daxter asked his still panting friend, Tera putting a hand on the taller male's shoulder in an attempt to cal him down.

"What you just did was very brave," Kor motioned to the boy standing beside him, "this child is important."

"This kid?" Daxter walked over, poking the kid, who covered his face with his arms, "he looks kinda scruffy."

Tera looked up when a KG flew over them, keeping her hand on Jak's shoulder.

"_You are in a restricted zone, move along!_" was all the guard said before flying off again, Kor turning back to the trio.

"Thank you for your help, but I must get this boy to safety."

"Hey! What about us?!" Daxter exclaimed.

"There is an underground group waging war against baron Praxis," Kor turned back to them, "it's leader, the Shadow, could use fighters like you. Go to the-"

"The slums, right?" Tera cut him off, planting her hands on her hips, "I can take it from here old man, thanks anyways."

"When did she get an attitude?" Jak mumbled quietly to Daxter, who shrugged.

"Very well then, miss," Kor looked miffed briefly, then turned and ushered the boy off, "good luck."

"I take it you know who we have to see?" Jak watched his friend carefully, only now taking the time to see how much she'd…. changed. She was the same, yet different.

Tera snorted, scanning the air above them, "I _work_ for the friggin underground, I think I should know who you have to see. Just need a zoomer… ah ha! There's one!" taking a few steps, Tera jumped up, grabbing onto the lower area of a two seater zoomer as it passed over head. Climbing up, she pushed the driver out and lowered the vehicle to ground level, smirking at Jak's surprise.

"Are you coming, slow poke?" Jak smirked and climbed in, watching the girl as she switched the zoomer back to the higher zone and took off, her foot heavy on the gas.

"Look who's not afraid to drive anymore," Tera gave a wry grin.

"Things change in two years," she replied, and they sat in silence for the rest of the ride, Tera finally slowing down the zoomer and switching back to the ground level as they turned into an alleyway.

"The headquarters is just down the alley," she explained, waiting for the guys to get out, "I need to park this somewhere not so close, so I'll be right back."

Turning around, Jak and Daxter watched her drive off till she was out of sight, then continued on into the alley. Just in front of a large door marked with a green symbol, a blonde woman stepped in front of them, frowning deeply.

"We're looking for a guy named Torn, we're with Te-" the woman looked to the right, and a man with brown dreadlocks walked up to Jak, staring him down, "um, are you… Torn?"

"Maybe this guy's a mute," Daxter quipped, "like… you used to be!"

"New faces make me nervous," Torn spoke, poking Jak in the chest; his voice sounded gravelly, "Word is you're out to join the fight for the city. Y'know, picking the wrong side could be," he paused, getting right in Jak's face, "_unhealthy_."

"_TORN!_" the three males looked towards the voice to see Tera running up, her eyebrows drawn down across her eyes. She stopped beside Jak, planting her hands on her hips again, "This is _Jak_ and Daxter, my friends. Stop harassing them would you?"

Jak ignored her, glaring back at Torn, "We want to see the Shadow."

Torn chuckled humorlessly, "Not likely. If you wanna join something, why don't you and your pet go join the circus," he turned and took a few steps away, then looked back to them, "Unless you've got the fur, for a really tough task."

Pulling his curved knife from it's holder on his back, Torn ran a finger along the smooth side, "Steal the barons banner from the top of the ruined tower, and bring it back to me. Then," he threw the knife up into the air, then caught it again, "maybe we'll talk."

"Fine," Jak spat at him, turning to exit the alleyway. Tera moved to follow after him.

"Tera, no helping them," Torn snapped, the teen shooting him a glare over her shoulder.

"I know that, I'm just showing them where to go," she bit back, leading the guys over to a parker two seater zoomer, "C'mon, I'll show you where Dead Town is."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There's the banner!" Daxter pointed towards the flag as Jak jogged up the final steps of the tower. The blonde grinned.

"That was easy. Just like old times, eh Dax?" the ottsel nodded, then paused.

"EXCEPT we didn't get to drag Tera along this time," Jak smirked at that.

"We'll just have to make sure to drag her with us next time," he agreed, pulling the flag from its place and striking a pose along with his ottsel buddy. Their grins fell, however, when a sudden crumbling noise sounded below them, the tower falling from under their feet. They fell, bouncing up off an old tarp and sliding down a nearby cable, Jak jumping off and landing nimbly on the ground while Daxter fell on his face.

Tera smirked up at Torn, who watched the old tower crumble in surprise. Then he looked to Jak, returning the grin, "Yah, I guess you guys are in."

"Nice work," Tera commented, giving Jak a thumbs up, "Torn, I'm gonna bring 'em back to my apartment. We'll be back tomorrow."

The brunette nodded, and Tera motioned for her friends to follow her, moving back to the gate in the city wall. Walking through the large metal doors, the trio hopped up from the large hole the gate was located in and walked out into the main area of the city, hopping into yet another abandoned zoomer and taking off.

"Are you ever going to let me drive again?" Jak questioned, bringing a true smile to Tera's lips.

"Maybe."

Jak watched the scenery change around them, going from grey to red metal, "Where's your apartment?"

"Industrial section, "she replied, swerving the zoomer around a corner, "the Underground actually pays fairly well, plus the girl who got me into the Underground got me it cheap."

Reaching the correct building, Tera lowered the zoomer and shut off the ignition, hopping out and leading Jak inside, climbing to the third floor then unlocking and opening a door.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Daxter joked, Jak looking around the small apartment. The main room was a mix between a kitchen and a living room, and a small hallway with two doors lay straight ahead of him.

"It's not much," Tera called from one of the rooms, exiting with a bundle of towels in her arms, "but it could be a lot worse. Here," she tossed the towels at Jak, "take a shower; you need one."

Jak rolled his eyes, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. Stripping, he turned the water to as hot as it would go and stepped in, shoulder slumping with the relief the water on his skin gave him. He hadn't had a proper shower since… well, since leaving Sandover.

"Tera's changed," he murmured, just loud enough for Daxter, who was washing his own fur, to hear.

"She's grown up, Jak," was the ottsel's reply, "Tera's had to toughen up in order to survive in Haven; you don't want to piss her off. She's not the little girl we need to protect anymore, eh Jak?"

"Yah…" he breathed, mentally continuing 'doesn't mean I'm not going to protect her…'

Finishing, he turned off the water and dried himself off, only pulling on his boxers and pants, carrying the rest with him. Silently opening the door to Tera's room, he stepped in and stopped. The girl sat with her knees up and her forehead resting against her arms, her hair falling loose around her ears and face. Once more, Jak stopped to look, _really_ look at the woman his childhood friend had become.

She was still thin, but rather then being gangly and awkward, she was agile and built for speed, having developed the curves that came with growing up. She'd let her hair grow out, the blue ends now reaching her shoulders. The changes didn't matter though; she was still Tera. Hearing his heavier breathing in the silence of her apartment, Tera looked up, giving her friends a weak smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," Jak replied, suddenly uncomfortable. He was on her turf, and wasn't sure how to act in the situation. Rolling her eyes, Tera stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him back out to the living room.

Releasing him, she moved to the couch and pulled it out into its bed form, tossing some pillows and blankets onto it.

"You can sleep here, I hope it's ok," Jak simply nodded, laying down on the couch and watching her until she retreated back to her room, the lights going out.

Tera climbed into her own bed feeling better then she had in two years, happy knowing that Jak was safe and no longer in danger of being tortured. Just as she was drifting off, Tera felt her bed dip behind her and a muscled back brushed against her own as Jak settled behind her, back to back. Not bothered, and reminded of Sandover, Tera quickly fell asleep.

XX

Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Tera

XX

When I saw Jak again, for the first time in two years, I was thrilled. I didn't care that I had just spent two years fighting for my life in a strange city. I didn't care that I had just killed two Krimzon Guards, or that I'd killed roughly ten just minutes before that. I didn't care that he looked different, or that he could talk. I didn't care that he had changed. All I cared about was that he was safe; Jak was safe and we had gotten him back, Daxter and I, and we were a trio again.

I know that I've changed too; it's impossible not to in a place such as Haven. I'm not weak like I used to be, and I look different, to. But I don't care. Now that Jak is with us, I have hope again. We'll find Samos and Keira, and somehow we'll find a way back to Sandover. And then, everything will go back to normal. Samos would be his usual crabby self, Daxter would go back to terrorizing the farmer's yakows, Keira and Jak will be in love again and I'll still have my crush on Jak but keep it silent. But I'd be happy with that; because it would mean that things could go back to normal, and that I can stay by his side.

XX

End introspection

XX


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:** Yay people like the new book! Quick update because I had been off on Wednesday XD. Ok I really don't have much to say right now so I'm just gonna reply to my readers and then shut up so you people can go read XD To my lovely reviewers:

**Nostalgic Beauty:** I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

**Light-Eco-Freak:** Lol! Yup, she uses guns now, and Jak'll get his own either in this chapter or the next, not sure yet. Anyways, thanks for the review!

**AngelSilentWind:** Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! And I'm glad you think Tera is cool, I worked really hard on her. Thanks for the review!

**Katella:** Woot! Lol, glad you think the changes suit her, I was trying to stay more or less true to her character. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the review! No hurting the author! XD

And now, on with the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Two: Working For the Underground**

Jak woke the next morning to find Tera moving around her room; re-tying all the little straps on her clothes and pulling her outer jacket on over top her white shirt. Not noticing he was awake, Tera pulled her hair back and secured it with a hair elastic, pulling her goggles on then glancing behind her, giving Jak a small smile when she saw him watching her.

"Hey," she greeted, poking the ottsel sleeping beside him to wake him up, "how do you feel?"

"Better," he admitted, sitting up and stretching, "I haven't gotten a good sleep in…" Jak trailed off, neither having to hear any more to know what he was referring to.

"Well," Tera coughed, not liking the silence that settled in the room, "Torn wants to see us about something, so we should get going."

Jak nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and raking his fingers through his hair in order to make it look at least slightly presentable before shaking Daxter.

"C'mon Dax, we've gotta go," the ottsel mumbled something under his breath, then pushed himself up, sleepily hopping onto Jak's shoulder.

"Alright, lets go before tattooed wonder gets more pissy then he already is." His companions laughed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reaching the hideout fairly quickly, the three operatives moved down into the building, Torn already waiting at his table.

"Wooo!" Daxter exclaimed, striding over to the water pipe hanging from the wall, "Man am I thirsty!"

Tera's eyes narrowed at Torn's smug look as he watched Daxter pull the leaver to release the water, the ottsel instead meeting with a face full of brown muck. The ottsel broke away quickly, coughing and hacking as he attempted to scrape the taste off his tongue. Tera and Jak flinched, the girl's nose scrunching up in disgust.

"The baron turned off all water to the slums," Torn explained, crossing his arms and leaning back against the table, "he's willing to sacrifice innocent lives just to destroy the underground!"

The underground officer sighed, "I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen his evil before, while serving in the Krimzon Guard," he looked away, "That's why I quit."

"You were a Krimzon Guard?!" Jak spoke, surprised, then gave a dry chuckle, "That explains your charming sense of humor."

Tera rolled her eyes, "Where can we find the valve to turn the water back on Torn?"

"My friend in the Krimzon guard tells me the valve is located _outside_ the city, at the Pumping Station."

"Outside the city?" Tera echoed, her arms crossed, "what about the security walls?"

"What about the metalheads?!" Daxter piped up, "that ain't no pettin' zoo out there! Peeps be getting' deep sixed!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms in what could only be an attempt at a gangster sign.

"Find the large drain pipe in the north wall," Torn continued, ignoring the ottsel, "it'll take you outside the city to the pumping station. Get to the valve and open it." He paused again, smirking and crossing his arms, "If you survive, the slums'll be indebted to yah. If not, maybe we'll have a touching moment of silence in your honor."

"I'd like to give him a touching moment," Daxter muttered after jumping back onto Jak's shoulder, the three leaving the head quarters and heading out to the alleyway.

Tera sighed in frustration when only a single seater zoomer sat outside, "We'll have to find a two seater I guess."

"Why?" Tera looked back at Jak, not liking the evil smirk that had spread across his lips.

"Oh there is no way in HELL I'm letting you drive, let alone while on a single!" she hissed, crossing her arms. Tera ignored him when he climbed onto the zoomer, looking at her expectantly.

"Tera…"

"No."

"_Tera_," sighing, she gave in, climbing on behind him much as she had during their days in Sandover, that feeling of dread slinking over her again.

She was given no warning when Jak switched hover zones and sped off, falling the small map on his com that Torn had given him. Tera clenched her teeth and held on tightly, swearing mentally that she would _never_ let Jak drive again. They reached the water slums quickly, hopping down onto the wooden platforms once they were near the drain pipe.

Exiting out to the pumping station, Tera put a hand out to stop Jak, pointing up ahead, "Those are metal heads."

Three metal head swiper's prowled back in forth in front of a big machine just ahead of them, not noticing them due to their distance. She glanced at Jak, "You want to try out your moves or should I just shoot 'em?"

Jak smirked, rushing forwards and punching through the creatures before they had a chance to retaliate, grabbing the skull gems that were left behind as the dark eco swept into his body.

"Nice moves," Tera shared his grin as she walked forwards, hopping up the pistons to the top and taking out the two goobers there with easily placed shots. The three made their way around to the right, taking down the creatures that came at them with ease. They hopped over a rotating tube and two blue-eco charged electric grates that swept back and forth over another section of the tubing. Continuing on and killing all of the metal heads and monsters that came in their way, the three eventually reached the valve.

Daxter hopped down off Jak's shoulder, striding forwards confidently, "Ah, the valve! Allow me."

Grabbing hold of the large metal wheel, Daxter attempted to turn it. Straining and yanking on it, his human companions shared a look, Jak moving forwards to slam on the metal pipe, sufficiently spinning the valve. A vent opened above Daxter and sucked the ottsel in, sending him flying through the vast number of metal tubes towards the ground.

When he's finally stopped, Daxter whimpered, "Jak… help."

The two humans followed his voice back down to where they'd started, Daxter once more calling out "Jak… please… help."

Turning the valve down on the main machine, the two watched their friend slowly be pushed out through the end of the water hose, flying out to land face first on the sand.

Bending down to help him, the two smirked when Daxter raised a hand towards them, "Don't say it. Don't even chuckle. Next time, _you_, turn the valve."

"Whatever you say Daxter," Jak grinned, helping the ottsel back up onto his shoulder.

"Lets get back and tell Torn we did as he asked," Jak nodded, following Tera back to the drain pipe and walking back out into the water slums.

Jak paused, however, when he felt a sort of… tugging, at the back of his mind. Turning towards it, his gaze found a building that looked slightly less… ratty then the rest, and he couldn't help following the board walk towards it.

"Jak?" noticing her friends destination, Tera quickly followed, wondering what it was he was heading towards. Walking inside the building, the three gaped up at the glowing structure in front of them.

"An…oracle? Tera gasped, surprised, "I thought they'd all vanished…"

"_Greetings great warrior,"_ the oracles voice, the same as the ones back in Sandover had been, began, _"I sense there is a dark rage burning within you, and in time, it will destroy you with its madness."_

Tera frowned, Jak staring emotionlessly at the giant metal structure as it continued, _"Only the last power of the Precursor's can save you. Destroy my enemies, those creatures you call the metal heads. Bring me twenty five of their skull gems, and I will teach you how to control these powers."_

"Jak?" shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jak looked down at Tera, "We have to go see Torn now." Nodding, he followed the girl outside and hopped up to grab a two seater as it flew over them, the three flying quickly to Torn's. Reaching the hideout, the three walked quietly down into the main area, entering to see Torn pacing back and forth in front of his table.

"The slums water is back on," he grinned when they entered, stopping and placing his hands down on his work surface, "I'd love to see the heads roll when the baron finds out!"

"Yah, I'm sure he's loosing lots of sleep over this armpit of the city," Jak snapped, "we've done what you asked! Now when do we see the Shadow?"

"When I say so, _if_ I say so," Torn replied coolly, motioning them over, "but before I even think about it, I want you to take care of an ammo dump we've id'd in the fortress. Lots of Krimzon guards, constant patrols. We know it's vulnerable," he turned back to look at the three, "and the underground needs _you_ to blow up all the ammo you find inside. Get all of it, and we'll deal a body blow to the baron."

"You're sending _us_ in tough guy! So what's with this, _we'll_ deal a body blow stuff?!" Daxter demanded.

"That's fine," everyone turned to look at Jak, who pounded a fist on the table and continued, "I want the baron to know that it's _me_ who's hurting him."

"Well, lets get this over with," Tera sighed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think this is it," Tera panted, stepping inside the next room. Jak nodded, spotting something on top of a barrel and picking it up.

"Cool, that's a security pass!" Daxter piped, "we need those to get through city check points."

The three jumped when a sudden lurch sounded below them, Jak motioning for his friends to be silent as they crept forward and looked down through the gate in the floor. Two Krimzon guards stood in front of a large opening, two metal heads staring back at them.

"_These barrels are the latest shipment of eco; the baron says take them and get out."_ One of the guards spoke, both raising their guns when the metal heads growled and took a few steps forwards.

"Metal heads in the city?" Jak whispered, "Why are the guards giving them Eco?"

Another sound rising from behind them, the three stood and stared when the security tank reappeared through the door, locking on to them.

"Oh shit," Tera cursed, diving out of the way when it started firing again. She and Jak ran in opposite directions around the large missile, the tank following Tera around the right side. Dodging its fire again, the bullets instead hit one of the cooling pipes, destroying it. Realizing what they had to do, Tera dashed around the other side.

"Jak! We have to get it to fire at the cooling pipes!" nodding to himself, Jak dodged around another round of shots, a second cooling pipe falling to its fire. Soon, the two had managed to lead it around to all four of the pipes, sufficiently cutting off the cooling system. A sudden count down sounded above them, the door at the other end of the room opening.

"Let's go!" Jak shouted, grabbing Tera's wrist and running to the exit. The three jumped just as the missile exploded, sending them careening down to the ground below. Daxter crawled out from under Jak, his friend having landed on him, and panted.

"This place has too much excitement. We need to move back to the country!" Jak shrugged, Tera rolling her eyes. Frowning at the memory of what they had just witnessed, she stood.

"We need to tell Torn about what we saw," Jak nodded, and the three grabbed another zoomer to head back to the Underground Hide out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:** Weee, welcome to the third chapter guys:D I hope you'll enjoy this as much as the others! I'm gonna aim to make this one a bit longer again, because I felt like I was disappointing you guys with the shorter chapter last week. D: This chapter will have four missions plus a bit of extra original stuff down at the end. Now to my lovely reviewers!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** Thank you so much, and thanks for the review!

**Empty Tranquility:** Lol, who wouldn't want to marry Jak? XD And now you have more! Tis Saturday woot! Thanks for the review!

**Pyro Madz:** Lol, she's not quite all grown up yet, she's only sixteen! Thanks, glad you like it. And thank you for the review!

**Light-Eco-Freak:** Yay, glad you liked it. Lmao, yup, he gets the scatter gun today. Thanks for the review!

On with the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Three: Working for Krew**

The trio hopped off their commandeered zoomer and walked down into the underground hideout, easily spotting Torn standing just behind his war table.

"We have returned!" Daxter exclaimed, jumping up onto the table, "One barbecued ammo dump served up hot!"

Tera rolled her eyes at the ottsel, Jak crossing his arms and addressing his words to Torn, "We saw something odd while torching that ammo. The Baron's guards were giving eco to a group of metal heads!"

Torn turned to look at them in surprise, "Really? The Shadow will be very interested to hear that," the commander turned to face the group fully, Daxter piping up again.

"You know," he drawled, "So far your gigs have been easier then stealin' grass from a sleeping yakow."

Tera put a hand over her eyes with a groan, a motion that Jak noticed and grinned at. Why couldn't Daxter keep his mouth shut at least once in a while?

Torn chuckled darkly, "You and your rodent wanna start provin' yourselves? One of our… 'suppliers' needs his payment delivered- a bag of eco ore. Take the zoomer parked out back and drive it to the Hip Hog Saloon in South Town. Ask for Krew- he'll be there," Torn paid no attention to the way Tera stiffened at the name, simply continuing, "And don't let the baron's patrols stop you. By the way, when you get there, pump Krew for information," Torn turned again, walking back to his map's, "He's wired into the city and may know what the baron is up to."

"You can count on us," Daxter piped, Torn crossing his arms.

"Are you still here?" the group took that as their dismissal, and headed back up to the alley. The parked zoomer was easy to find, and Tera sighed when, yet again, it was a single zoomer.

"Maybe I should just stay behind this time," Tera offered, standing a bit away from the zoomer, "It'll only make it go slower if there's two people on it-"

"Did something happen between you and this 'Krew' guy?" Jak cut her off, watching her carefully. He'd noticed the way she'd tensed up at the name, and intended to get some answers. Tera shook her head, shivering.

"No… he just really creeps me out. You'll see why when you get there. I think I'll just stay he- Jak!" she squeaked when, once more, she found herself picked up much like she had been multiple times in Sandover and stuck onto the back of the zoomer, Jak taking the seat in front of her.

"Hold on," she frowned, looping her arms around his waist anyways as she didn't feel like flying off.

"I hate you," Jak just smirked, punching the gas. The Krimzon Guards left them alone at first; they simply soared easily through the slums towards the Industrial section where Tera's apartment was. They had just passed into the red area and gone by her apartment when the alarm sounded, a turret popping up from the ground and peppering shots at them.

"I'm going to regret saying this," Tera growled, tightening her hold on her friend, "But punch it Jak!"

The male grinned, hitting the acceleration and easily losing the KG's behind them. They stayed in the lower hover zone, driving straight under two rode blocks and avoiding ever KG they could. Daxter shouted out every time they hit a KG or a shot hit them, Tera keeping silent until they were within sight of the water.

"Fly over the water!" Jak blinked.

"What?"

"Just do it!" Jak obeyed and shot out of the water, still following the locator on his map towards the saloon. There were less guards out there, and so it was easier to fly. Raising up just so they could get back onto the ground, Jak stopped the zoomer just in front of the Saloon and quickly helped Tera off, the three dashing inside and leaning back against the wall in relief when the alarms stopped.

Spotting a tall black man near the bar, Jak started walking towards him, Tera following after.

"Let me handle this, you two," Daxter grinned, "Watch my finesse and style!"

"Don't forget to ask about-" "Everything's cool, Nobody panic." Daxter cut him off, jumping down to the ground and approaching the tall man, "Hey big guy," he walked under the mans legs, his confident look becoming one of shock at what appeared in his vision.

Tera's shoulders tightened again, and Jak could easily see why the man creeped her out. Rolls of fat hung over the edge of the device that kept him floating, his face disgusting and tiny legs dangling from under the chair.

"You Krew?" Daxter asked, regaining his composition, "Well, we shook the heat, and your shipment's in primo condition." Tera stood slightly behind Jak, not wanting the man to talk to her unless necessary.

"That's good, ey," Krew rasped, sucking breath in, "because a cargo of rare eco ore is worth more then ten of your lives, mmm, and of course, I'd be forced to collect… ah, slowly. Heh heh, "he paused for another breath, "The Underground will take anyone with a pulse these days." The second half of his words were directed at Jak, his eyes occasionally drifting to the blonde head behind the male.

His attention was drawn back to Daxter when the ottsel jumped back onto Jak's shoulder, "And what do we have here? The Shadow's mascot of the month?" he reached out a pudgy hand, stroking the ottsels head before pulling back, Daxter making a disgusted face, "Oooh, soft… Sig, this fur would go well with my silk suits, eh?" he commented to the black man.

"Listen, ah, tons of fun, anyone can see that you, uh, and I have the real juice in this burg," Daxter attempted to joke, sounding nervous, "We're both players, right? We're both looking for a piece of the action, right? I think we can do business, right?"

"We did you a favor, now it's our turn," Jak snapped, stepping forwards towards Krew, "Why is the Baron giving eco to metal heads?"

"Questions like that could get a person killed, eh!" Krew rasped, motioning to the black man again, "Sig, pay 'el Capitan' here and his friends a bonus." Jak took a step back at first, then blinked when a gun was stuck in his face, taking it from him, "If you want to see what the baby can do, try the Gun Course outside. Show me some skill with that hardware, and I'll hire you for a job or two 'eh."

Jak smirked, liking the weight of the metal in his hands, "Lets go," he turned and headed for the doors, Tera following quickly after. They walked the short distance to the Gun Course, heading inside Jak broke open the ammo boxes and loaded up, looking to Tera when the doors to the Scatter Gun course opened.

She grinned, planting her hands on her hips, "Have fun."

Jak grinned back, stepping in and beginning the course. He was a bit trigger happy, Tera noted, but that could come in handy at different times. He was good at avoiding the civilian pop-ups, and took out the metal head ones quickly. When he reached the end of the course, Tera walked up behind him to see his score, whistling.

"You got gold on your first try. Damn, you beat me," Jak's eyebrow went up.

"You've used a scatter gun?"

"Naw," she pulled a pistol from her belt, "I use blaster and Vulcan mods on my pistols, but I only got silver on the courses. Now come on, I think Krew needs us for something else." She shivered again.

"You really don't like him, do you?" Jak smirked.

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello cherries!" Sig greeted as the trio walked over, just outside the walls of the city, "Ready to hunt a few metal heads? Follow me, stick close, and watch my six," he grinned at the three, "It's gonna be fun!"

"Oh, yah, FUN," Tera muttered sarcastically, her two friends rolling their eyes at her. They followed Sig as he made his way down the beach, three juice goons and two snorkel tooth's waiting just ahead. Tera pulled out her pistols and set them to blaster mode, taking out the two snorkel tooth's with four easily placed shots. Jak helped Sig take out the juice goons, liking the damage he could do with his new gun.

Hopping up to the top, Sig motioned for the three to stand behind him while he charged his peace maker, firing it at the large metal blockade on the platform. Spotting two juice goons up ahead, Jak and Tera nodded to each other and charged forward, each taking out one of the enemies.

"You three make a good team," Sig commented, moving forwards. Jak lowered a bridge for them to walk across, and Sig stopped, motioning to a higher platform up ahead.

"There's the first target; watch my back," the wastelander knelt down, his peacemaker beginning to charge. Jak and Tera took care of the Snorkle Tooth's that jumped up in an attempt to attack Sig, the older male soon standing and firing the shot at the large metal head. The Crab head fell down, Sig giving a thumbs down when it did so. The rest of their time continued in much the same way, with Jak and Tera taking down any enemies that got in their way while Sig focused on the Crab heads. Jak grabbed as many metal head skull gems as he could, remembering what the oracle had said.

Once Sig had taken down the last Crab head, he turned to the Underground operatives, "BOOM! Home team five, Metal Head's nothing. That was the last one. Tell Krew we got 'em all cooked and caned. I'm gonna clean the Peace Maker and pick up the trophies," he grinned at the two blondes, "You did good, rookies."

Tera huffed at being called a rookie, Jak laughing at her as she headed back towards the entrance to the pumping station, simply following after his friend. When they exited back into the water slums, Jak froze, again hearing a sort of call in the back of his mind. The oracle, he guessed.

"We have to go back to the oracle again," he said simply, Tera nodding and following after him towards the old hut. Entering, she kept back as Jak stepped forward, tossing the twenty five skull gems that had been asked for towards the oracle. The girl and ottsel gasped when a beam of eco energy was suddenly shot from the oracle to Jak, raising him up in the air. His body convulsed, his dark appearing in a flash of light. He landed back on the ground, panting and staring at the oracle, still in his dark form.

"_You do well to rid the world of this Metal scourge. As a reward, I give you a dark power_," the oracle boomed, "_Bring me two hundred skull gems and I will give you a new dark power._"

Dark turned, sensing the two standing behind him. Black pools swept over them, as if trying to register whether they were friend or foe. The orange one… Daxter, he was a friend. The girl… she looked familiar, but was she a good familiar or a bad familiar? The demons eyes narrowed slightly. She showed no fear, no disgust, nothing- simply stood there watching him, apparently trusting him.

What was her name? He could almost remember… T… Ter… Tera…

"Tera…" he panted, reverting back to himself as his energy stores ran out, staring at the girl in surprise, "You're not… afraid of me?"

"Afraid?" the girl echoed, raising an eyebrow and placing a hand on her hip, "I'm not going to be afraid of my friend who's been protecting me since I was little. No way."

Jak attempted a weak smile, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

The three exited the hut, once more grabbing a zoomer to head back to Krew's. On the way, a question struck Jak, and he glanced back at Tera over his shoulder.

"How did you get into the underground anyways, Tera? No offence, but two years ago, you were kind of…" Tera simply rolled her eyes at him.

"I was weak, Jak, you can say it. It's the truth. I was taken in by a girl named Tess, who helped me get going and get used to Haven. She's the one who introduced me to the underground. But I got in because of…" she blushed slightly, "…my channeling abilities."

Jak frowned, "But, there isn't any blue eco…"

"Yes there is," she motioned to the blue ammo of her gun, "they use eco in the gun ammo. Blue is blue eco. If I crush the eco I can power up on it. I can take a lot more then I used to be able to; that's why I got it."

"I guess that makes sense," Jak mused, wondering how many other ways his old friend had changed in. They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued towards the Hip Hog, awaiting another mission. It felt good to be back in the presence of friends, Jak mused.

XX

Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Jak

XX

I still find it hard to believe that I'm out of prison, that they actually found me. Daxter and Tera, my best friends. I had just about lost hope; it had been two years, what if they had been killed? Precursors, I was more afraid of that then I was of myself dying. I worried about Tera a lot more then the others; I knew that Daxter was with her, and I worried about them both. Keira and Samos could take care of themselves, but Tera… the Tera from two years ago couldn't. I hate to admit it, but she was weak. She tried so hard to be strong, but it just wasn't in her.

Now, though, she's changed. A lot. She can definitely handle her own in a fight, and she's grown up to. Tera's a lot more mature then she was, both mentally and physically. I can't help wondering if Keira's changed to. I admit, I miss her, who wouldn't miss their crush after two years? I'm afraid of what she'll think of my 'dark side'. I might not have shown it, but the fact that Tera wasn't afraid of me when I went dark… really got to me. Even in my demon form, she would stay by me. I don't know how to thank her, but some day I'll figure it out. Some day…

XX

End Introspection

XX


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note:** Woot, chapter four! I already have all the missions divided up so I know exactly what is going into every chapter. For those of you who have played the game, this chapter starts with the 'destroy turret' and ends with the 'win jet board stadium challenge'. And now to my lovely reviewers:

**Empty Tranquility:** Yay! I'm glad it worked lmao! Yes, I love Dark Jak as well, he's awesome. And I liked that bit to XD You'll have to wait for that since the pairing of this so far is still the slight Keira/Jak of the second game, but you never know what I might throw in X3 Thanks for the review!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** I'm glad you liked it! And I'm not answering that question just yet! XD Thanks for the review!

**Pyro Madz:** Lmao, I am glad you like it so much XD Happy you liked how Tera looks, lol, and thank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for the review!

Just a note, in total, there will be sixteen chapters. Much longer then Book One, lmao XD Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Four: Into the Sewers**

Walking into the Hip Hog, Tera flinched automatically when Krew flew down and around them, the three turning to face the obese man.

"Your three are turning out to be quite useful, eh?" Krew sneered, "Mmm, I have another task for you. The Sewers used to be a fabulous smuggling route for me, before the Baron installed security devices."

"And before those late night snack runs kept you from fitting out the front door," Daxter snickered, flatting himself out and walking side ways comically. Tera rolled her eyes at the ottsel, Jak frowning at the floating man.

"I bet you've hatched another 'brilliant' plan in that hungry little brain of yours," he growled, "So… who or what do we have to shake down, knock out, or blow up?"

Krew grinned, "Well, I need someone to go down and shoot every Sentry Gun in the Sewers. I'd give you a sweet weapon upgrade if you succeed."

"Ugh," Tera grunted, "Sewer duty… _great_."

"Let me guess," Daxter drawled, "Dank, murky water?" Krew nodded," Reeks worse then your breath at an oyster fest?" an ignored glare, "Fuller o' Metal Heads then your plate at a one pass buffet? And of course, weapons more lethal then your 'ever to tightly whiteys'," the ottsel grabbed one of Krew's fat rolls and jiggled it, Tera looking away in disgust, "on a hot summer day?! **Look**, donut hole, why don't WE float around here looking hot and heavy, and YOU go roto-root the pipes?"

"We're not doing anything until you tell us why Metal Head's are trading with the Baron's forces!" Jak growled, crossing his arms.

"I should have had you all knee-capped, ey?" Krew snapped, floating in close to the blond, "All I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metal Head leader. Mmmmm," Krew paused, turning and floating a bit off from the three, "Metal Heads need eco, so the Baron supplies them with regular shipments," he turned back to them, motioning angrily, "In return, the Metal Heads agreed to attack the city just enough to satisfy the Baron's continued rule."

Tera frowned, crossing her own arms, "Yeah, but how long can that deal last?"

"Well, the Baron is running short on eco, 'ey?" Krew grinned, "And the Metal Heads are short on patience. Baron Praxis _needs_ this war to keep in power. Otherwise, the city would put the true ruler on the throne," he paused, then grumbled, "wherever that little brat is."

"We'll clear out your sewers," Jak snapped, a grin spreading across his face, "And, we haven't forgotten about that weapons upgrade you promised in return."

"Bloodsuckers," Krew muttered in reply before floating off towards the bar again, leaving the three Underground operatives to head out towards the sewers.

"Damn," Tera sighed, her nose still wrinkled as they stepped outside, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, "I was hoping to not have to go down into the sewers again any time soon."

"You've been down there I take?" Jak questioned as they walked, looking for a zoomer.

"My first missions in the Underground were all down there," she admitted, then grinned, "till I started arguing with Torn and he finally gave me better missions."

Jak chuckled at this, leaping up and grabbing onto the metal bars of a single zoomer as it passed over head. Knocking the driver off, he lowered it and smirked at Tera again, "Come on slow poke."

Tera scowled, climbing on and wrapping her arms around his torso again, muttering something along the lines of "You'd think you like me clinging on to you for dear life." Before Jak floored the gas and the trio sped off towards the sewers.

"Where's the entrance, Ter?"

"It's in South town, right by my apartment. Just turn right instead of left once we hit the red section."

Jak followed her instructions, and the three hopped off the zoomer and headed down the ramp shortly after. Stepping through the door as it slid open, they moved onto the metal grate elevator and waited silently as it moved down into the sewers. Jak noticed Tera pull her pistols from their holsters, and pulled his own scatter gun from his back, loading it and preparing for whatever lay ahead of them. When the door opened, the three moved forwards into the metal tunnel, their noses wrinkling at the smell.

Three snorkel tooth's appeared up ahead of them, charging. Jak took two out with his scatter gun while Tera handled the last with her blasters, yellow and red bullets ripping through the creature's skin. When they were gone, Tera shot open the KG crates by the wall and tossed the scatter ammo to Jak, storing the health pack in her pouch for later usage. Continuing on, Jak stepped onto the light switch at the end of the tunnel, activating the lights above them.

Hopping down onto the platform following the right wall, Tera motioned for the two to stop when sudden gun fire rang out, passing the wall just in front of them.

"There's the first turret," flipping her goggles down, she glanced around the corner when the turret was firing the other way, frowning and pulling back, "My pistols will only do minimal damage to that thing. You're going to have to get close enough to use the scatter gun on it, Jak."

Jak nodded, grinning, and jumped out into the tunnel, dashing towards the turret. He jumped over the gun fire when it swept past him, shooting it down when he finally reached it. Tera jogged up after him, giving him a quick thumbs up before continuing onwards. At the end of the tunnel, the three jumping over the metal platforms to get to the other side of the water. Tera yelped and jumped back, almost falling into the water, when a Metal Head rammed into the metal netting, screeching. Jak caught his friend by the wrist and steadied her before shooting the metal head, its skull gem floating into his pack.

"You ok?" he asked, frowning. Tera nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"It just surprised me, I'm fine," she assured him, "Let's keep going."

Jak nodded, sticking close to the girl's side as they hopped over the next set of platforms, shooting down the goobers and snorkel tooth's that waited in the next corridor. Heading around the next corner, Tera put a hand on Jak's shoulder to stop him again, her ears drooping slightly.

"Look," she whispered, pointing into the darkness just ahead of the light switch. Jak squinted, making out three glowing gems in the darkness. More Metal Heads. Loading his scatter gun, he nodded to Tera before stepping onto the light switch, revealing the three grunts. The Metal Head's growled and charged, but stood no chance against the two's combined gun power, yellow and red bullets making quick work of the beasts.

"Nothing more invigorating then hunting sewer metal heads," Tera quipped, earning a grin from her friends. Continuing on, they shot down the three snorkel tooth's blocking their path and paused at the end of the corridor, hearing the second turret activate itself and start firing. Jak grinned and once more dashed out, jumping over the turrets fire until he was close enough to shoot it, calling back to Tera once it was safe to come out.

Walking down the next corridor, they stopped at the edge of the walkway, staring down at the black abyss below them. Stepping onto the small metal walkway along the right wall, Tera yelped when it suddenly buckled, sending the three crashing down to the ground.

Groaning, Tera sat up, rubbing her bruised back and butt, "Yet another reason why I hate the sewers…"

Jak ignored his friends grumbling, standing and breaking the nearby KG crates. The dark eco blobs flew out and into his body, Jak feeling the demon reappear within his mind as his stores filled up. But this time, he felt as though he had more control over the dark powers.

"Let's go," Tera nodded, following him around the corner. They stopped just short of the light switch, spotting eight glowing gems in the darkness. Swallowing thickly, Tera grabbed her pistols, Jak loading his scatter gun with a frown. This would be messy. Stepping onto the light switch, the metal head grunt's growled and charged as soon as they spotted the three, the two blonds letting out as many shots as their guns could as quickly as they could.

"There's too many!" Daxter screeched, clutching Jak's hair. The blond growled, clenching his teeth. He didn't want to, but he knew a quick way of ending this.

"Tera, get behind me!" he barked, the girl jumping and complying, her expression showing confusion. Putting his gun away, Jak growled as his dark self leached to the surface, horns and claws growing, skin and hair turning horribly pale and eye's deepening to pure ebony. The demon growled, launching himself into the air and slamming down on the ground, sending out a shock wave of dark eco. The wave, surprisingly, didn't even touch Tera, but it completely wiped out the hoard of metal heads, their skull gems bouncing along the ground.

His eco stores depleted, Jak groaned as he reverted back to himself, a hand on his forehead. Glancing back to Tera, his look was easy to read, 'Did I hurt you?'

Tera simply shook her head, giving a small grin and planting her hands on her hips, "Nice moves, Dark boy. Now grab those skull gems and let's get moving, we've got two more turrets to take out."

Nodding, Jak grabbed the eight skull gems and stored them away in his pack, following after Tera as she jumped up a set of slimy steps set into the left wall. Shooting down the goobers there, they stopped at the corner and listened, watching the turret's bullets rip through the air ahead of them. Jak jumped out to head over, but this turret seemed to be faster, and he couldn't seem to get past the first two platforms.

Tera frowned, peaking out from around the corner to assess the situation. Scanning the water, she spotted no enemies and decided to take a chance, jumping out and into the water.

"Ter?!" Daxter screeched, spotting the girl as she swam past the platforms and straight for the sentry gun, the turret unable to aim low enough to hit her. Jak focused on getting closer, managing to make it to the third platform just as the girl climbed up beside the sentry.

"Jak, throw me the scatter gun!" she shouted, catching the weapon when the male tossed it at her. She aimed and fired, the turret exploding into tiny little bits. Smirking, she mock saluted to Jak, holding his gun out, "Who say's girls can't fight?"

"Not me," he laughed, the three following the path and hopping up into the next corridor. Hitting the light switch, they walked around the corner, spotting two grunts ahead of them. Tera cursed when the light suddenly deactivated itself, the grunts charging at them through the dark.

"Shoot shoot!" Jak obliged, the two somehow managing to get both the grunts despite the complete blackness of the tunnel. Grabbing the gems, the three continued, Jak immediately hopping out and making a run for the last turret when it began to fire. He got close and easily took it out with the Scatter gun, Tera rushing up to join him shortly after, high-fiving Daxter.

"Good work my boy!" Krew's voice exclaimed from his com as it popped out of his pack and hovered around the three, "Come back to the Hip Hog and I'll give you that weapons upgrade I promised."

"And, of course, the girl never gets any credit," Tera joked, rolling her eyes. They moved forward, taking down the last Snorkel Tooth's and Metal Head's that waited in the corridor. Hopping down into the water at the end, they swam back to the hall with the exit door and headed back out to the city, Tera taking in a deep breathe once they were back within Haven's walls.

"It's so good to be out of there," she sighed, Jak rolling his eyes and grabbing a nearby zoomer. The three headed back to the Hip Hog as Krew had told them to, jumping off the zoomer and entering once they reached the saloon. Krew sat near the bar end of the building, fanning himself. Krew took a whiff of the air, his nose wrinkling.

"What _is_ that horrible smell?" he questioned, continuing to sniff at the air.

"Oohh, great," Daxter spat, "we do _your_ dirty work in the sewers, and come back smelling worse then a wet hip hog in a warm barn!" Daxter sniffed around himself, hopping to the ropes surrounding the centre of the bar and leaning back towards Jak and Tera, "This could have a serious impact on the lady factor!" this earned him a roll of Jak's eyes and a snicker from Tera.

"Nooo," Krew gagged, as though holding back vomit, "I think it was my lunch, actually."

Tera shuddered, her nose wrinkling, the guys just staring at him in shocked disgust.

"Nice work in the sewers, eh," he changed the subject, turning back to the bar, "I guess you're looking for that weapon upgrade, hmm? Well, there's a blaster mod stashed in some crates at the Port. Find it, and it's yours…" Krew laughed, floating off towards the ceiling again.

"Well, let's go find your mod," Tera quipped, heading out with the guys following. They walked the short distance to the Port, heading inside the Gun Course when they couldn't see any crates outside. Jak bashed through all the crates, the mod falling from the one in the centre of the room. Bending and snatching it, Jak loaded it onto his morph gun, Daxter flashing Tera a peace sign.

The blond grinned and aimed it as though to take a shot, looking through the targeting eye. Daxter rubbed his hands together in anticipation, the two males grinning at each other sadistically. Tera rolled her eyes at her friends, pushing the button to open the door to the blaster gun course.

"Ready to do some training boys?" she grinned, watching Jak enter the course and immediately start firing away, liking the auto targeting of the blaster mod. Tera followed along behind the two, still grinning. This was the course she had started on when she first began working for the Underground; the blaster was the mod she generally used on her own pistols. Jak breezed through the course easily, once more avoiding the civilian targets and only hitting the metal head ones.

At the end of the course. Tera frowned, pouting and crossing her arms at his score, "Damn, you beat me!"

Jak looked at the name area, seeing that Tera had been pushed to second and his name registered as first. Grinning, he hooked an arm around the girl's shoulders, squeezing her gently.

"Ah, relax Ter, you still beat all the other people who have run this course," he smirked. Tera flushed, shrugging his arm off and not looking at him, her arms still crossed as she waited for her face to cool down.

"C'mon, we should probably head back to the Hip Hog and see if Krew has any other missions for us," she muttered finally, quickly heading back out onto the street, a slightly confused Jak following after her. They entered the saloon once more, Krew floating up near the roof of the bar as they walked over.

"I have a proposition for you, Jak," he grinned, turning to face the trio, "Racing is the biggest sport in the city!" he flew down and circled around them, "Errol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy, and dangerous on the track," Krew gave a laugh, "My kind of guy," he spoke in Jak's face, then flew away, the blond waving a hand to clear the stench, "Only a fool would dare race again him, eh! And that's where you two come in," Tera growled quietly at Krew's intentional forgetting of her, though she kept her mouth shut.

Krew floated back behind the bar, "A client of mine is looking for a fast driver for her racing team," he snatched a piece of paper and a pass from the bar, floating back over to the group, "here's a security pass to get you into the stadium section," he tossed Jak the green pass, "Oh, and your contract, with just a few trifles for me. I've ah, already signed your name to save time, mmmmnn."

Daxter caught the contract, immediately reading it all over, "We the racers hereby agree to give Krew all proceeds from the race earnings, endorsement fees, broadcast royalties, syndications residuals, vehicle sponsorships, mall appearance fees, collectible card assets, fast-food tie-ins, use of likeness rights, talk show deals, clothing lines, all print rights including book, novella, comic, pamphlet, tickertape, neon sign and bathroom graffiti designs…"

Tera and Jak yawned, half falling asleep as Daxter continued to read, barely managing to snap themselves out of it.

Daxter took a deep breathe before continuing on with the next page, "Toy rights, shoe lines, mood rings, game rights…" Daxter paused, "**GAME RIGHTS?!**" then continued again, "Vitamin endorsements, city kickbacks, movie deals, and of course, all death and dismemberment accident insurance claims." Daxter sent Krew a skeptic look, the fat man giving a low chuckle.

"We can work out the tiny details later. If you can get from here to the Race Garage near the stadium in less then three minutes, my client said that she would consider letting you drive for her team," he paused, grinning, "Make me proud, mmm!"

Jak nodded, heading out of the salon with his friends in two. He didn't notice the smirk that had spread across Tera's face, the girl watching the sky for any single zoomer's that she could grab, knowing Jak would be taking the one parked outside.

Spotting one, she grinned, "Hey Jak…?"

The blond stopped just short of getting on the zoomer, looking back at his friend, "Yah?"

"Race yah!" the blond had no time to react as Tera jumped up and grabbed a single zoomer flying overhead, knocking the driver off and immediately taking off in the direction of the race garage. Smirking, Jak hopped onto his own zoomer and took off after her, Daxter screeching from his shoulder. Jak had to admit that his friend had become a good driver, as Tera was better at avoiding people and other zoomer's then he was.

At some point, one of them had hit a KG, so now they also had to deal with the idiots shooting at them. Tera stayed just a bit ahead of Jak the entire time, both watching the clock as their time ticked away. Jak managed to catch up to Tera just as they pulled into the arena area, both zoomer's hitting the spot light that indicated the finish line at the exact same time.

"Bah, a tie," Tera grinned, flipping her goggles back up and hopping off the zoomer, "I almost beat you though."

"Almost, Ter," Jak chuckled, getting off his own zoomer and heading into the race garage, Tera following close behind. They entered the specified garage, looking around at the seemingly empty space.

"Uh… hello?" Jak called, walking in, "Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?" he put a hand on one of the metal platforms in the garage, Daxter hopping up onto the surface. Tera moved up beside Jak, also glancing around.

"I'm busy right now," a female voice said, the trio looking around for the source, "you must be Krew's new errand boys."

Jak frowned, focusing on the green curtain ahead of them, the three spotting the silhouette of a girl behind it, "Look, I don't mean to be rube, you did get here fast, but I'm not interested in any new drivers right now, and I've got work to do."

"Is there, anything we can do?" Jak asked, smirking at the woman's silhouette, Tera and Daxter rolling their eyes at their friend.

"No!" the woman exclaimed, "I'm… ah… working on a secret… ah… ah… 'vehicle project'." The girls shadows had moved in front of whatever it was she was working on behind the curtain.

"Okay, sorry," Jak muttered, looking back to the shadow when she spoke again.

"Listen, if you think you've got the guts to race in this town, try taking my prototype Jet-board out on the Stadium course," Jak and Daxter shared a grin, "beat the Stadium challenge, and _maybe_ I'll consider you for my team."

The girl had taken a seat on whatever it was she was working on, and Jak seemed hypnotized, staring with his mouth wide open. Daxter waved a hand in front of his friends face, he and Tera rolling their eyes at the blond. The girl took her friends wrist and pulled him out of the garage, down towards the stadium. Jak eventually snapped out of it and followed silently, heading into the jet board arena.

When they reached it, he smirked and grabbed the Jet board, hopping on and doing the practice moves that the mechanic, through a communicator, told him to do. Tera watched the entire time, rolling her eyes when her friend did a silly move just to piss of the mechanic. Eventually, he surfed down into the actual arena and took the challenge, pulling off a variety of stunts and managing to get gold.

Surfing back into the practice area, Jak hopped off the jet board and moved to put it away, blinking when Tera snatched it from him.

"My turn," she said simply, jumping on and taking off into the stadium. Jak watched with a grin, his friend managing to pull off the majority of the moves that he himself had done. When time was up, she surfed back over to them, grinning as she had managed to get silver in the challenge.

"Let's go tell the bitch we beat her challenge," she smirked, Jak nodding and leading the way back to the garage. Walking back into the garage, Jak smirked at the hidden woman.

"We beat the Stadium challenge."

"Great," the mechanic sounded less then impressed, continuing to work on her project, "People do get lucky. Listen, don't you have someone to collect money from, or beat up, or something?"

"You don't like us do you?" Jak questioned, crossing his arms.

"You work for that slime ball Krew," she bit back, "what's not to like?"

Jak glanced to the side of the curtain, spotting the many trophies that sat there, "Looks like you've won a few races," he looked back at the curtain, "Isn't it true the city champion gets to tour the palace?"

"Yeah," the mechanic paused, "why?"

"Could you get me into the palace?"

"A friendly visit, I gather," the mechanic muttered, going back to her work. Tera frowned to herself; something about this woman seemed familiar.

"Yeah. I'm a real fan of the Baron," Jak growled.

"Okay, I'll help you out if you _stop bothering_ me," Jak rolled his eyes in Tera's direction, the blond grinning, "I saw an old maintenance elevator at the base of one of the palace support towers. That old lift might take you up to the palace, IF you can find a way to turn on the elevator's power."

"Right, thanks," Jak grunted, turning back towards the exit, "Let's go guys."

Daxter hopped onto Jak's shoulder, Tera silently following after him. She couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that she had seen that woman before, but she just couldn't figure out where…

A beeping coming from her comm., she pulled it out and motioned to Jak, "Torn's calling us again; ready for another crappy mission?"

Jak grinned, "Bring it on."


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: **Wee for another chapter! XD I'm getting this done chapter by chapter, yay! I really don't have much to say this time, so, to my lovely reviewers!

**Light-Eco-Freak:** Aww, it's ok, that sucks about the grounding. Thanks! I shall try to keep up the awesomeness! Thanks for the review!

**Jakgirl24:** Lmao, I thought that would be a good addition. Lol, she's not coming into it really soon… I don't think. Can't remember off hand XD Thanks for the review!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** I'm glad you liked it! And you'll just have to wait and see now won't you? XD Thanks for the review!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Five: Welcome Vin**

"Why do I keep letting you drive again?" Tera muttered as she climbed off the back of the single-seater zoomer, glaring at Jak the entire time. Said male simply grinned, jumping off after her and following his friend towards the entrance to the Underground hideout.

"Because I tend to grab a zoomer before you can," the girl huffed, knowing he was right. Heading down into the building, they found Torn, yet again, standing behind his table, looking over some documents. He didn't look up when they entered, simply continuing to look things over.

Finally, the Underground commander looked up, circling around to their side of the table as he spoke, "One of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the Metal Heads."

"That's not _our_ problem," Jak growled.

"It IS our problem when the foreman's one of the Underground's best informants!" Torn snapped, his gaze drifting to Tera briefly, "Eco knows him. His name is Vin, and he's just valuable enough to save."

Tera stiffened slightly at both the use of her code name and the information, ignoring Jak's inquisitive look, "You sent _Vin_ out to the field?"

Torn ignored her, crossing his arms and looking to Jak again, "Find the warp gate at the Power Station, and use it to travel to the Strip Mine so you can rescue Vin's pathetic hide."

"Hey! Tattooed Wonder!" Daxter piped, jumping up onto the table and glaring at Torn, "how come we get all the crappy missions?!"

Torn leaned in close to the ottsel, frowning, "Because I. Don't. Like. You." He poked the ottsel hard enough in the chest to push him to the ground, Daxter giving a nervous laugh.

"Fair enough…"

"Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metal Heads," Torn rough gaze went back to the two teenagers, "the city's eco is almost gone, and his time is running out. If we don't get the kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend!"

"We'll get Vin," Tera growled back, exiting the hideout with the guys, her shoulders still stiffened up.

"Why did he call you 'eco' Ter? And how do you know this Vin guy?" Jak questioned as they headed towards the zoomer they'd left parked outside, watching the girl intently.

"My full codename is Blue Eco," she explained simply, waiting till Jak had once more gotten on the zoomer then climbing on behind him, "And I've done a few missions with Vin; it surprises me Torn would've allowed him out on the field, Vin's really… well, you'll see. Just head for South Town; the power stations just a bit further in then my apartment."

Jak did as she said, gunning the zoomer in the direction of South Town. Though he would never say anything, Jak was looking forward to a break in the missions. Hopefully they would be able to actually get back to the apartment and sleep tonight. Reaching South Town's boundaries, Jak steered towards the power station and braked the zoomer just short of the metal walkway that lead up above the streets, hopping off and following Tera up the ramp. The power station was right there; the three walked in with no problem, blue grids and screens floating around them.

The trio quietly moved to the warp gate, unnerved by the mechanical whirring and beeping that surrounded them. Hopping into the familiar blue vortex, the three soon found themselves in a deserted looking area, lakes of dark eco visible throughout the area. The strip mine was quiet; way to quiet.

Jak and Tera both drew their guns, nodding to each other before slowly moving forwards. As soon as they approached the nearby KG crates, a group of metal head stingers jumped out of the ground and made a beeline for the underground operatives, taken care of easily by a few fun shots. Continuing on, they had to deal with a pack of metal head grunts, more coming as they rounded the corner.

Tera took down the Metal Jacket that swooped down over the grunts, the two running forward to take care of the next pack that awaited them. Torn had been right when he'd said the strip mine was under attack; there were metal heads everywhere! Finally managing to make it over to the conveyor belts, they made their way up and shot down the grunt that waited there, looking up at the top of the next belt.

Nodding to each other again, they rode it up, ambushing the metal heads that waited there before they could react to their presence. Once they were gone, they continued on, hopping onto a mine cart as it passed by the platform. Shooting down the two Metal Jackets that swooped down, the trio jumped off onto the other side of the platform and took down the few grunts that remained.

Approaching the door, Jak punched the button to open the seal, the gates sliding open easily.

"Agh! STAY BACK!" the three were forced to jump back and take cover behind the sides of the door as the frenzied foremen jumped out and started shooting randomly, not paying attention to whether they were metal head's or not.

"DO SOMETHING JAK!" Daxter shouted, "This guy's crazy!"

Tera leaned around the corner slightly, "HEY! VIN! CALM DOWN! IT'S TERA! TORN SENT US TO HELP!"

"STAY BACK!" Vin yelled again, letting off a few more rounds before diving down behind the control board. Jak scowled, also leaning around the side.

"LOOK, if we were here to kill you, you wouldn't be talking right now!"

The shooting stopped, Vin soon flopping down on the control cupboard with a weak grin, "Oh, friendlies?" he spotted the blonde girl, "Tera! Oh thank goodness! We… so… whe…" he paused, looking around frantically, "where's the army?!"

"Ah… we're it," Daxter grinned.

"What? Just you three?! What do they think I'm worth?!" he let his head fall against the consol, as if deeply wounded.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself!" Jak growled, ignoring the look he got from Tera, "If you want, you can stay here and be Metal meat, but Daxter, Tera and I are leaving before those monsters get back."

Vin jumped out of the lab, aiming his pistol around wildly as he followed the three over to the warp gate, jumping in quickly to get away from the strip mine. They arrived back at the power station in a matter of seconds, the foreman immediately rushing over to the control consoles and checking things over.

Tera and Jak shared a look, approaching the foreman.

"Hey, I want to thank you guys for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine," he began pushing buttons as he talked, dividing his attention between them.

"And we're like to thank you for being such a bad shot!" Daxter quipped, crossing his arms.

"Ah yeah, sorry about that guys," he turned to look at them fully, one hand still messing with the buttons, "Ah, I'm just a bit jumpy these days."

"Jumpy?" Daxter echoed, "We haven't noticed," the ottsel paused, then jumped, screaming, "Aaah! A Metal Head behind you!"

"AAAHH!" Vin freaked, his head snapping around, "Whatha?!... Whatha…?!? Wha!... Whhooooo…." The foreman slid to the ground, Tera rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her friends joke.

"Just kidding… nice reaction time though," Daxter grinned.

Vin jumped back up onto his feet, frowning deeply, "Not funny!" he turned back to his control panels, "Those Metal Heads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of eco! Eco power keeps the city shield walls up, and if the shield drops…" he paused, swallowing deeply, "well, we can all kiss our butts goodbye!"

"I've got a few surprises for those Metal Heads," Jak grinned, earning another eye roll from Tera.

"You've got to keep the shield walls up until the Shadow figures out what to do!" Vin exclaimed, "My readings show a drop in eco flow at the Drill Platform. Probably some Metal Head eggs sucking away power!"

Tera caught Daxter as he fell off the console, dizzy from watching the waves move back and forth in one of the screens. Her ears pricked as Vin continued to talk, turning back to look at the foreman as he motioned wildly at the warp gate.

"Use the warp gate to go to the platform and destroy every Metal Head egg you can find!"

"Let's go," Tera handed Daxter to Jak before turning to the war gate, jumping through with the male hot on her heels.

The Drill Platform was a fairly dismal looking place, especially since the sky had begun to get darker. Tera drawing her pistols and Jak taking out his Scatter Mod, the tree moved forwards slowly, jumping down to the next platform. As soon as their feet touched the ground, a pack of Roto Blades flew up from no where and sped towards them, the two quickly retaliating and taking them down. Continuing forwards, they dropped down to the next level, taking care of the Roto Blades that waited there.

Going right, they stepped onto the freight elevator and waited while it took them up, stepping off and finding themselves behind a Gun Pod when it stopped. Looking around, Tera easily spotted the various Metal Head eggs attached to the walls around them, biting her lip in surprise at how many there were. She jumped when Jak's communicator sprung to life, Krew's voice coming from the floating box.

"Jak, I need you for a… special job, immediately. I trust you'll get here as soon as possible," the comm. switched off before either could reply, floating back into Jak's pack. Looking back to the gun pod, Tera turned to Jak again.

"I'll take care of whatever Krew wants," she shrugged, "This seems kind of like a one-person operation anyways, so I'd just be in your way."

Jak frowned, "You sure you'll be ok by yourself?"

Tera huffed, crossing her arms, "I've been doing missions by myself for over a year Jak, I think I can handle it. Don't worry so much; I'll see you later." Jak watched his friend step back onto the elevator and disappear from sight, feeling anxious about her going out by herself.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Jak hopped into the Gun Pod and got to work, trying not to think about how weird it was to not have Tera around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tera entered the Hip Hog shortly after, having been able to drive a bit faster without Jak running into KG's every ten seconds. Approaching the bar, she paused, blinking at the blonde woman that stood behind it. Recognizing the girl instantly, she grinned, rushing forwards to slip onto one of the seats.

"Tess! Long time no see! Since when do you work here?" she fired questions off, the blonde laughing at her younger friend.

"Torn sent me to spy on Krew," she spoke quietly, still smiling, "I may be able to get my hands on a few secrets, so I can't have my cover blown. Where've you been lately?" she grinned here, staring inquisitively at the girl, "Been spending time with Jak have you?"

"Tess," Tera hissed, whapping her friend on the shoulder, her cheeks flushing red, "We've been getting missions non-stop, so shush about the Jak thing."

"Oh alright alright," the girl smiled again, though it faded shortly after, her eyes flicking to behind Tera.

"Eco!" Krew rasped, staring hard at the girl seated before him, "Where's Jak and his little pet?"

"Busy," she replied coolly, turning to face the crime lord, "I'm here in his place. What did you need done?"

Krew's frown deepened, "I guess you'll just have to do. I need you to go around and make a few collections for me."

Tera's eyebrow went up slightly, "Collections as in…?"

Krew grunted, "Listen, I have six 'clients' around town who are about to make money drops for me," Tess moved to wipe down the counter as the fat man continued, Tera listening closely, "I need you to collect each moneybag as fast as you can and 'take care' of any guards who get to curious, mmmmn! Get to a moneybag too late, and some townie might pick it up."

"Just collect all fourteen moneybags before they disappear and bring them back here. If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, 'eh!"

"I'll get your money," Tera snapped, slipping from the chair and heading back out into the street. She flipped her goggles down over her eyes and jumped onto a parked zoomer, taking off in the direction of the first money bag.

'Should be an easy mission.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We showed those Metal Head eggs who's who eh Jak?!" Daxter grinned from his friends shoulder, the blond simply nodding as he walked into the Hip Hog. Worry struck him when he realized that Tera was not at the Saloon, the male wondering whether she was still on a mission or in trouble. Approaching the bar and the strange blond woman behind it, Jak rolled his eyes when Daxter hopped onto the bar itself, still worried about his friend.

"Hey sugarplum. You new here?" Daxter grinned at the woman, "Well, whatcha got that's, uh, hot and…" he paused, squinting, "Wait, I've seen you before. You're with the Underground-"

"Shh!" the woman hissed, pressing a finger to the ottsels mouth, "I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along, and maybe I'll be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets."

"Ooooh… I love 'undercover' work, baby! But, ah, two can work better then one. Let me help you out."

Tess giggled when the ottsel jumped down behind the bar, going through the various bottles.

Jak wondered if this was the Tess that Tera had mentioned before, the thought causing him to worry about Tera again. He turned when Krew floated up behind him.

"Where's Tera?" the fat man blinked at him briefly, as though wondering what he was talking about.

"You mean Eco? She's out making a money run for me… should be back by now, eh," the man grumbled, the sound of the doors sliding open alerting the group to the new presence.

Tera strode up to the bar, tossing the money onto the bar and taking the seat beside Jak, still silent. The male's eyes were drawn to her right shoulder, where a new white bandage wrap was just visible above her sleeve, covering the very place where she'd been bitten by a snake back in Sandover. He frowned, opening his mouth to question her but ending up cut off by Krew.

"Mmm, quite the money collector eh? Here's a gun upgrade," he tossed what looked like a scatter gun upgrade at the girl, then turned his back, "Now all of you get out! I need my beauty nap."

Daxter popped up from behind the counter, hopping back onto Jak's shoulder, "Trust me brother, there aren't enough hours in the day!"

Krew growled and floated off, the three underground operatives heading out after bidding farewell to Tess.

Tera glanced at her comm., sighing in relief when she saw that they had no more missions at the moment, "Looks like we actually get to head back to the apartment and sleep tonight."

Jak nodded silently, grabbing another zoomer and steering it back towards the apartment. They jumped off outside and headed in, Daxter once more scurrying off to his own little bed to sleep. Both teens shed their goggles, guns, belts, boots and eco rings, as they weren't very comfortable to sleep in. When Tera took off her sleeves and moved to go into her room, Jak stopped her with a hand on her wrist, tugging her back in order to get a good look at the injury.

"You're hurt," he said simply, giving her a piercing look. Tera flinched, attempting to shrug it off.

"It's just a scratch," she waved him off, moving to head to her room again, "A KG got lucky and managed to nick me with a bullet, it's no big deal."

Jak tugged her back again, forcing her to sit on the couch, heading off and returning with the first aid kit. He un-wrapped the bandage carefully; relieved to see that it was indeed only a scratch. Still, it wouldn't do to have it get infected, and he cleaned it with the kit, pausing whenever she flinched, and re-wrapped it in a new bandage.

"Thanks," she muttered, cheeks flushed red as she stood and headed for her room, "Night, Jak."

"Night, Ter," he called after her, watching his friend disappear into her bedroom.

Tera once more removed her other sleeve and her top shirt, along with all the little ties that littered her pants before climbing into bed. And yet again, just as she was drifting off, she felt a weight settle on the bed behind her, though this time, an arm was thrown loosely over her waist, her back against Jak's front. The girl fell asleep with a heavy flush across her cheeks, Jak completely unawares of how he was making his friend feel.

XX

Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Jak

XX

When Tera left to do a mission on her own today, I panicked. Maybe not outwardly, but mentally, I panicked. It felt… _strange_ to not have her with me on a mission, to only have Daxter by my side as I took down the Metal Head's and eggs at the Drill Platform. And there was a constant nagging in the back of my mind that she could be in trouble, that I shouldn't have let her go off on her own. Instincts left over from Sandover, I guess. She was so weak back then; I felt it was my duty to protect her. The day that she got bitten, back in Sandover, I felt as though I had failed her; that I hadn't done my job.

And again, today, when she came in and I saw that bandage, I thought I'd failed her. Tera can take care of herself now, I know that, and it was only a scratch. Yet it still bothered me. Precursors, I've gotten over protective of the girl. She's been my best friend since… well, since I can remember. Other then my two years in prison, there just hasn't ever been a time that Tera wasn't there with me. Even when she couldn't come with me to certain places back when we were fighting Gol and Maia, I still knew where she was, knew that she was safe.

Heh. I'll just have to make sure that I stay with her from now on; Tera's my best friend, and it's my job to protect her. Whether she likes it or not.

XX

End Introspection

XX


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the slightly late update you guys; I was at my friend's birthday party all yesterday and last night, so I couldn't get at the computer to write and post an update. Hopefully, you will not maul me for doing so! And now, to my lovely reviewers:

**Empty Tranquility:** Lmao, yes, finally! Hopefully your ff problems are over now XD. Well, wouldn't you be protective over your best friend since like ever? I would be XD. I'm glad you liked it, and enjoy the update!

**-.Mysterious-Authoress.-:** I'm glad you liked it! Yesh he is overprotective, and I'm not sayin nothin' about the second part of that comment XD. Thanks for the review!

**Light-Eco-Freak:** XD LMAO! I'm glad you liked it, but how is he different…? \ I thought I was doing a fairly good job of keeping him in Jak2 character. Thanks for the review!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** Lmao, yes I agree. Sorry it took so long to update, thanks for the review!

**Kyogue:** KYOGUE! _glomps_ OMG long time no see! XD Lol! I'm glad you like it, and I still ain't saying nothing regarding the pairing thing so hah. Thanks for the review!

And now, on with the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Six: Tasks from Onin**

The next morning found Jak, Tera and Daxter once more heading down to the Underground's command centre, Torn waiting to give them yet another mission. Both blonde's grumbled the entire way from the apartment to the headquarters, but quieted when they moved down the steps, not wanting the commander to give them more missions then he already was.

"One of my old Guard comrades was sent to the Pumping Station," Torn grunted, not looking up as the three approached the table. Daxter took the chance to hop on the wood and start pulling faces in the light.

"There's been no word from her patrol, and after what you guys ran into out there, I'm afraid she may need some help."

Both Jak and Tera's eyebrows went up, "Did you say 'she'?"

"Don't even think about it," Torn growled, his hand snapping out to grab the swinging light and lean close to Daxter, "**Stop that!** This is serious, you moron!"

Daxter growled in Torn's direction, pulling a karate pose when Jak went to whap him on the head, "Whaa! That's right! Don't mess with the sugar!" he grinned, Tera rolling her eyes at her friend's behavior.

"This friend of mine has helped the underground many times before," Torn continued, ignoring the ottsel, "Go back to the Pumping Station and take a look around. Render assistance if needed," he turned to Daxter, poking him hard in the chest, "Now get your squirrelly ass outta here!"

Daxter stuck his tongue out at the commander when he turned his back, Jak sighing and grabbing the ottsel by his neck, tossing him onto his shoulder and following Tera up and out of the headquarters. The girl drove this time, having hopped into the two seater sitting just outside before Jak could protest, Tera grinning the entire time while Jak had a fake scowl sitting across his lips.

They drove out over the water slums, hopping out of the zoomer when they reached the drainage pipe that would take them to the Pumping Station, Tera and Jak already pulling their guns out as they waited for the second security door to open. Looking further up the beach, Tera paused and motioned to Jak.

"Crab Heads," she spoke quietly, "They shoot lasers; we need to hit them fast but watch out for their retaliation."

Jak nodded, loading the blaster mod as they crept forwards, diving behind a large piece of metal in the beach when the Crab Head began firing at them, he and Tera waiting until it stopped shooting to jump up and launch their own volley of shots, the creature falling and leaving blobs of dark eco in it's wake. The eco flew into Jak's body as he walked by, the three simply ignoring this as they had become used to it.

Walking along the right of the beach, they trudged through the water under the nearby pipe, pausing when they spotted three more Crab Heads on the beach ahead of them. The Metal Head's not noticing them, Jak and Tera shared a grin before shooting off quick rounds, easily taking down the three beasts. Moving forward, they hopped up three rotating platforms and then made their way up another three pistons. Jumping to the ledge, they moved into the next area and broke all the KG crates that were scattered there, both teens able to fully restore their ammo stocks and Jak feeling Dark wake up in the back of his mind as his eco stores filled.

Moving forwards again up the small ledges ahead of them to the grassy beyond that, they took down the three Crab Head's and single Juice Goon that were waiting. Once they were gone, the trio walked further into the area, looking around for the patrol Torn had sent them after.

Daxter frowned as they approached the seemingly abandoned KG hover craft, jumping down from Jak's shoulder and motioning wildly, "Ehhh, what the heck are we doing risking our likes to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway?! She's probably got more facial hair then me!"

The two blonde's rolled their eyes, looking around for the missing KG. Suddenly, a red headed woman dropped from no where, catching Jak in a headlock and pinning her pistol on Tera.

"Who the hell are you three?!" the woman growled, keeping her gun aimed at the startled teen, Jak raising his arms as though in surrender.

Daxter's trademarked leer appeared across his face at the sight of the busty red head, "Mmm, I do love a woman in uniform!" he saluted, "Wanna bark some orders at me? Woof woof!" he jumped up onto her arm, "I'm your soldier on the front lines of looove!" he hopped down again, "Waiter! Fox hole for two!"

The woman shoved Jak back over towards Tera, her pistol now pointed at the ottsel, "Keep talking and I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves."

"Easy," Jak cut in, scowling, "Torn asked us to help you."

"I don't need help," the girl moved to slide her gun back into its holster, her gaze drawn forwards by something, "but you might. We've got company."

"Ah fuck," Tera muttered, spotting the wave of Crab Heads and Juice Goon's that had jumped down from the above cliff and were now advancing towards them. Both Underground operatives and the KG woman began firing like mad, trying to keep the Metal Head's back.

They managed to take down the first, second and third waves, bullets ripping through the monsters flesh and their skull gems falling to the ground around them. When the fourth wave came, however, the four found themselves surrounded by the creatures.

"Jak," Tera whispered, backed up in the centre with him and the red head, "Now would be a good time to go Dark on these guys don't you think?!"

"Right," the male holstered his gun, concentrating and calling forward the demon. Skin and hair faded to white, horns and claws growing and eyes blackening before Dark stood in Jak's place. The demon snarled, launching himself into the air and then slamming down on the ground, sending out a shockwave of Dark eco that wiped out the remaining Metal Head's.

Quickly reverting to himself once his eco stores were full, both Jak and Tera followed the red head back towards her vehicle, glad that she wasn't asking any questions about the demon.

Daxter jumped down to the ground beside the zoomer, smirking, "Watching me take care of those Metal Heads was, ahh… pretty… exciting… wasn't it, sugar?"

The woman ignored him, climbing into the kraft and starting up the engine, the resulting gust of wind sending the ottsel flying back. Daxter strained to get back, shouting over the noise of the engine, "Hey! Sweet stripes! Gimme them digits so I can look you up sometime! We'll party hard, big city style!"

"Tell Torn Baron Praxis is planning something big," the woman ignored Daxter again, her words directed to Jak and Tera, "I think it has to do with that symbol," she pointed to a nearby stump, a glowing metal symbol with two eyes and a pair of curses embedded in it.

"What is it?

"It's the Seal of the House of Mar, the founder of Haven City. We're being sent out on suicide missions to locate artifacts from the time of his rule," the woman slid down into her seat, "If curiosity's worth dying for, you can ask the blind old soothsayer in the bazaar named Onin. She might know something about all this," the woman reached into one of her pockets, tossing a pass to Jak as her craft began to lift, "Here's my bazaar access security pass."

Jak flipped it open, "Your name's Ashelin huh?"

"We're even now," Ashelin snapped before taking off, leaving the three Underground operatives to themselves.

"Wow!" Daxter exclaimed, "What a woman. Rawr."

"Pervert," Tera rolled her eyes at the ottsel, standing on her toes to look over Jak's shoulder at the security pass, "Shall we go find this Onin woman?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jak agreed, the three retracing their steps to the water slums after picking up all the skull gems that had been dropped during the ambush. Jak grabbed a zoomer once they were back in the city (a single seater, much to Tera's further disdain), taking off towards the icon on his com that pinpointed the bazaar. They drove through the water slums and South Town, eventually reaching the 'highway' that lead through the bazaar.

Following it about halfway, they jumped off right in the middle of the platform and headed down a small ramp that lead down into the centre of the bazaar, heading around the corner and pausing at the sight of the large tent in front of them. Glancing at each other, the two teens moved forwards, Jak entering first. They gazed around the tent in surprise, the old soothsayer herself sitting just in front of them.

"Cooool!" Daxter exclaimed, looking at the monkaw that hung motionless nearby, "Check out all the dead stuff!" he poked the creatures face, jumping back with an 'ouch!' when it bit his finger, snapping awake.

"Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be," the creature paused to squawk, "counting with your toes!"

The monkaw flew over to the old woman, landing in her hat and striking a pose, "I, am Pecker!" he sighed when the three muffled laughter, "Yes, yes, I know, my mother, she was… very vindictive," he gave a bow, "I am Onin's interpreter."

Onin clapped her hands together, moving them about in various motions, blue streams that Tera recognized as eco flowing after her fingers.

"Onin welcomes you, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah… the usual boring salutations," Pecker paused, looking to Jak, "She says it is good to see you again, Jak."

Jak frowned, crossing his arms, "But we've never met before."

"Before… after… it is all the same," Pecker replied, going to continue but slumping in irritation when Daxter cut him off.

"Oh! Oh! Let me try! Aaah…" Tera and Jak rolled their eyes, hiding grins at their friends oddity, "she wants a... she wants a yakow bone! A yakow bladder! No… no… I got it! For many moons… she has… waited for… a juice pop?" at this point, Tera gave up and let herself burst out laughing, the little ottsel continuing on as Pecker rolled his eyes, flying over closer to them, "A jewel shop? Oh… oh… I know, she's got a hairball! A hair lip? A hairy chest?"

"Close," Pecker nodded, then snapped "but NO!" the old woman began to make motions again, the symbol from before forming in the air, "Onin says you seek answers, arrrrrkk, about the Tomb of Mar."

"So what do we need to know?" Jak asked impatiently, sending Tera a weary glance.

"She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid 'oooooo' crap," Pecker turned on the three again, "Forget all that, I'm gonna sum this up quickly, because now you're cutting into my siesta time."

Daxter made a crazy motion as the monkaw continued to talk, his companions grinning and nodding, "Onin wants you to recover three artifacts from the Precursor Mountain Temple. Not two, not four, three! Use the warp gate at the northwest side of the city, and bring back the three items you find!"

The monkaw flew back into Onin's hat, waving them off and closing his eyes. The three left the tent and headed back to the byway, snatching a zoomer and taking off for the farm section of the city. Reaching the area indicated on Jak's comm., they hopped off the vehicle and made their way up the ramp, exiting the city and approaching the warp gate that Pecker had specified. Pulling out their guns, they hopped through the gate and landed up at the top of the Precursor Mountain, the three gaping.

"Kind of reminds me of Sandover," Tera muttered, the males nodding in agreement. Snapping themselves out of it, the three moved forwards after breaking the nearby KG crates, shooting the platform ahead of them to flip it and jumping over into the Temple itself. As soon as they stepped on the elevator it lowered, the two shooting down the swipers up ahead of them. Moving ahead to grab the Skull Gems, Jak paused and motioned for Tera to stop, looking around the corner of the first passageway.

Spotting the Centurion waiting around the corner, he attacked quickly before it could raise its shield, effectively taking down the Metal Head. Smirking, he looked back at Tera, "Lets get moving."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That's some peeper, huh?" Daxter commented, walking ahead of Tera and Jak into the temple area, a bright white light shining from up in the ceiling. The ottsel entered the spot light, Tera and Jak staying just outside of it.

Daxter sniffed at the air, "Something's cooking? Hmm, kinda smells like…" he froze, looking behind him to see his tail was on fire, "Burnt ottsel?! AGHHHHH!"

The ottsel began to run around crazily, spinning the platform that the two blonde's were still standing on. The lens floated slowly down, Jak catching it and carefully sticking it into his pack. Daxter eventually flopped down on the platform, the fire out.

Tera snickered at her friend, the ottsel hopping back onto Jak's shoulder as they headed over to the small Precursor platform that waited there, landing in the Temple Hub. Shooting down the hoppers that waited there, they considered the two paths still left.

"This'll take to long if we go after one at a time," Tera decided, looking to her friends, "You guys go left, I'll go right. We'll meet up back here when we get the artifacts."

Jak frowned, "I don't think that's a good idea, Ter."

The girl rolled her eyes, drawing her pistols, "It'll be fine, Jak. See you guys later," the blonde had no time to protest as the girl took off down her designated path, giving a sigh and heading to the left as she had said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tera cursed, diving out of the way of the Ram Head as it charged again, letting a volley of shots fly when it reared, revealing its underbelly. The beast gave a pained roar, falling onto its side and leaving behind blobs of dark eco and its skull gem. Giving a sigh of relief and noticing the new platform and opened door, Tera scrambled to her feet and grabbed the skull gem, hopping across the platform and into the Temple room. Inside, she climbed up the steps leading to the artifact, pausing when she reached it due to the vibration it was giving off.

Biting her lip, she grabbed it and stuffed it into her pack before it could do anything, jumping back down and heading for the platform that waited, heading back down to the Temple Hub. Reaching it, she walked back to the elevator to wait for Jak, grinning when her two friends finally appeared.

"Get the artifact?" when Jak simply nodded, Tera frowned, noticing the anxious look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"The oracles calling again," he replied, the girl giving an understanding nod before they stepped onto the elevator, hopping back through the warp gate once they reached it and grabbing a zoomer outside. The rid back to the water slums was silent, the three simply having nothing to say and hopping off as soon as they reached the correct hut.

As soon as he stepped in, Jak was once more grabbed by a bolt of Dark Eco and lifted into the air, Tera and Daxter standing back.

"_Now that you carry the weight of darkness on your shoulders, you alone cannot save us,"_ the oracle spoke, dropping a now Dark Jak onto the ground, _"Our last hope rests with one still untouched by pain, and you must protect this young soul in our moment of truth. I grant you another Dark Power!"_

The eco demon turned to look at Tera and Daxter, his eyebrows rising when the girl sat down and leaned back against the huts wall, calm as ever.

"We can't go anywhere till you change back, Jak," she shrugged, eyes never leaving his, "May as well relax."

The demon grunted, his way of agreeing with her, and he loped carefully to the wall, sitting awkwardly on the ground beside her, resisting the urge to go out on a killing spree. Tera fiddled with the straps on her sleeves, silently waiting for her friend to turn back.

Eventually, his stores emptied, Dark gave a pained howl as he reverted back into Jak, horns and nails retracting and skin and hair fading to normal colours, eyes finally returning to blue.

Standing, Tera held a hand out to help her friend up, raising an eyebrow at him with a grin, "Shall we go see Vin about turning on that elevator now?"

Jak nodded, returning her grin, "Sounds like a plan."


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:** Amaria here, back with yet another chapter! Oohhhh, I just finished Tera's redesign for Book3 and it looks awesome and… _cough_ er, I mean, book3? Who's thinking about book3/horribleliar Anyways, to my lovely reviewers!

**Empty Tranquility:** Lol, me to. And awww, glad you think she's cool XD And you saw the redesign lol. Thanks for the review!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** Lol, good to know someone thinks I am! And I didn't change the oracles message _blink_ that's what it said in the script I'm using. Tera is only a blue channeler sooo, the light thing would have to be a no. Thanks for the review!

**Miracle Mar:** Erm, bad choice of words on my part there, hehe… And yup, they go to the palace in this chapter, lol. Thanks for the review!

**Light-Eco-Freak:** Lmao, yes, I thought that would be funny. As we all know that Jak is a crazy driver XD Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** I'm glad you're liking it, and thank you! I worked very hard on making Tera. Thanks for the review!

And now, on with the chapter peoples!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Seven: Another Day in Hell**

Entering the power station, the trio weren't surprised to find Vin hard at work on his control consoles, messing with every switch and button he could reach. Sharing a look, Tera and Jak approached him slowly, the male thinking of how best to word what he wanted to say.

"Vin buddy, we need a favor."

The technician paused, looking at them while rubbing the back of his neck, "I-I can't help you with your eco bill."

"We need you to switch on the access elevator in one of the Palace's support towers," Tera cut in, stepping up beside Jak.

"Sheesh!" Vin exclaimed, "That's part of the old B-Zone power grid. It hasn't worked for years!"

The Underground operatives grinned at each other, turning away from the jittery male.

"Well, if it's too _hard_ for you, we understand," he paused, sending Tera a wink, "power stuff can be tricky."

"Tricky? Hmph!" Vin scoffed, rushing back over to his panel, "I could route the B-Zone conduit lines through the bypass grid, shunting past the eco rings to connect the inductor tubes in series, then back through the outer wall insulator helix and across the resonant flux routes into the number five capacitor array," the trio watched him rush around the room, hitting switches and buttons as he went, jumping on his hover platform and continuing to swoop around the room, "Assuming the circuits in the GX75B can handle the surge, I could link the phase loop lines into the primary coils, and presto!" he landed in front of them with a BANG, "you've got instant lift juice!"

"Vin," Jak grinned, "You're a genius!"

"Eh," Vin rubbed the back of his head again, "actually, Mar was the genius," he motioned around the room, "People say he made most of this stuff long ago- the shield wall system, the eco grid…" he trailed off, then snapped back to the present, waving his hands in front of him, "Anyway, to get that elevator moving, you gotta find and turn on all the old B-Zone power boxes located in the city. There are five of 'em!"

"That doesn't sound so tough!" Daxter grinned.

"No," Vin agreed, then began motioning wildly, "Except those power boxes are guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons!"

"Shoulda known," Tera muttered, the technician continuing.

"But if you can destroy the cannons, and switch the boxes on, I can do the rest!" the three nodded to each other, heading for the doors, the technician shouting after them, "J-Just don't tell the baron I ever saw yah!"

"Paranoid much?" Tera muttered, motioning back towards the doors as they exited. Her friends just grinned, "So, how are we going to work this?"

"It'll probably be best to grab a zoomer and shoot them from the air," Jak reasoned, Tera nodding.

"If we grab either a two or three seater, I could drive and you could shoot down the cannons, Jak," she offered, the male nodding.

"That should work; lets find a zoomer," they walked to the edge of the metal walkway, looking down at the stream of traffic below them. Spotting a two-seater, Jak jumped down, knocking the driver out so that Tera could slide down into the seat, taking off almost immediately. She followed the blinking green dot on her com unit, lowering the zoomer to the lower hover zone just out of the first cannons reach.

Jak loaded the blaster, Tera inching the zoomer forwards the cannon until it popped out of the ground, immediately pulling back to once more evade it's reach. Jak began firing immediately, his partner punching the gas once it exploded, the renegade hopping out and activating the switch when they neared it, jumping back into the zoomer so Tera could speed off towards the next cannon. She followed the next dot, cursing when the city's alarms went off halfway to the next cannon. They took care of the next cannon in the same way they had the first, grabbing a new zoomer when theirs began to smoke. The third and fourth followed quickly, Tera steering them off towards the final cannon before any KG's could get near them.

The final cannon fell to Jak's blaster, the renegade jumping out and activating the last of the power switches then jumping back in the zoomer, Tera raising it to the higher level just as the guards came running.

"G-good work!" Vin's voice came from Jak's comm. as it popped out of his pack and began to hover around the two, "the B-Zone power is back online! G-Good luck with whatever it is you guys are planning!"

"Shall we go pay the Baron a visit?" Tera grinned, glancing at Jak as she turned the zoomer towards the location of the elevator.

The male gave a wicked grin, nodding, "Lets go." The girl punched the gas, the zoomer speeding off towards the elevator. They reached the location fairly quickly, jumping off the vehicle and heading inside, taking the elevator up. It was a fairly long ride, and they waited silently, Tera tapping her foot impatiently.

Finally, it reached the top, the three exiting onto the high platform, the city laid out in front of them. From where they stood, they could easily see that it would be no walk in the park getting across the coil to the palace. Nodding to each other, Jak and Tera hopped down onto the first platform and walked forwards towards the first gap, watching the set of charged blue-eco coils that spun around every few seconds.

They jumped just after one had passed, then repeated the process for the next set, approaching a long double row of sparking, red platforms. It was obvious that they couldn't touch them without getting hurt, and so quickly dropped to the small platform on the left, jumping off almost immediately to the next as the platform gave way under their weight. They continued down the next platforms, swinging on the poles there and vaulting to the other side.

Jak watched in worry as Tera vaulted over the poles after him, terrified that she would fall and die. The girl proved him wrong, raising an eyebrow at his relieved look when she landed smoothly on the solid platform. They continued on without many problems, hopping back up to the main cable and then back down to the right when more heating coils appeared, jumping across the sets of platforms and then yet again back up to the cable.

Tera cursed when a sentry gun began to shoot at them from up ahead, reminding her way to much of the turrets in the sewers. The two took off running, jumping over the shots when needed. Jak bashed the cannon in when they reached it, the three sighing in relief. Daxter mumbled something about 'damn paranoid bastards needing too many damned guns' as they continued on, jumping across the five sections of rotating spiked areas in sequence and hopping to the solid platform beyond it. Tera let out a loud curse when yet another sentry gun went off in front of them, the two repeating the same process as before so that Jak could destroy the gun.

Tera's ears lowered in annoyance when rain began to fall, the blond about ready to let yet another string of curses fly. Jak noticed this, but pretended to ignore it, still surprised by the curse she'd let out just minutes before. They continued down another set of platforms to the right, avoiding two more eco-charged circuits and swinging over another pole, heading up another few platforms and landing back on the main cable again. The rain was getting harder now, worsening the groups moods further.

They pressed on anyways, passing another set of heating coils and another turret gun, jumping behind it and giving sighs of relief when they reached the wall of the palace. They jumped up the platforms that followed the wall, climbing the nearby ramp. They approached the sky light ahead of them cautiously, they climbed onto it and gazed down, having apparently stumbled across a conversation between the Metal Head leaders holographic head, the baron and Errol.

"I've told you, I'll have more eco by week's end," the Baron growled, "We'll transport it directly to your nest, as promised."

"_A deal is of no value if you can't deliver, my dear Baron," the Metal Head Leader's voice turned impatient, "I grow impatient with your puny gestures. Give me the agreed upon eco soon, or the deal is off, and your precious city will pay the price!"_

The creatures head disappeared, Errol growling and whirling on the Baron, "He's toying with us! Let me lead an assault on the Nest before it's too late! I can take him!"

"Patience, commander," the Baron stared out the window, raising a hand to the metal half of his head, "No one has ever penetrated the Metal Head nest, you know that. I've seen what comes of such foolish plans," he paused, then turned back to Errol, "No! Strength is their weakness… we play helpless, train them to eat from our hands, and then…" his voice grew louder, "Move forward with the plan! Tell Ashelin to up her patrols. I want that tomb found!"

"But your daughter has not been…" Errol paused, "_Agreeable_."

"Aggg, I'll see to that problem," the Baron muttered, "one way or another."

"Ashelin is the Baron's daughter?" Jak whispered in surprise, noting the shocked look on Tera's face as well. She hadn't known either. Their attention was drawn back to the Baron when he started speaking again.

"And find that child! If you'd spend half as much time looking for that little brat as you spend flirting with that mechanic girl, we would have pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago!"

Daxter rubbed his nose, feeling it itch.

"As you wish," Errol began, Daxter beginning to take varied breaths, on the edge of sneezing. Both Jak and Tera moved to grab him, but pulled back when he seemed to be fine, "With enough persuasion, I'm sure our spy will," the ottsel let out a loud sneeze, both of his friends grabbing him and diving away from the glass when Errol whipped towards the ceiling, "What was that?!"

Daxter inched away from the death glares both his friends were sending them, simply hopping back onto Jak's shoulder once the cost was clear and they could stand up again.

"We should probably find a way off the roof," Tera muttered, glancing around the roof. Jak nodded, leading the shorter girl around to the left and dropping down the sloped roof there, continuing forwards, an electrical gate blocking there way through.

Suddenly, the Baron flew up beside the roof in some sort of giant mech, sneering down at the trio, "So, we have a rat in the walls, do we? A rat and his keepers, it seems! Back for a few more Dark Eco treatments?! Well, allow me to put you all out of your misery!"

"Shit," Tera muttered, diving away from the sudden barrage of machine gun fire that the mech launched, she and Jak firing back as soon as they got the chance. They slowly whittled away the mech's health, the Baron finally spinning out of control and crashing through the electric force field, disappearing into the next section of the roof. The three nodded to each other, loading up on ammo before following after him.

"Watch out!" Jak tackled Tera out of the sudden field of missile targets, barely escaping the resulting blasts. Yet again they were forced to fire when they could, dodging missiles left and right, rewarded when the mech once more spun out of control and smashed through the next barrier, the trio following once more.

"Oh come on!" they immediately had to jump out of the way of a barrage of mini fire tornados, then dodged again when the baron suddenly attempted to ram them with the mech itself.

"Screw this," Tera switched her pistols to Vulcan temporarily, yanking out the ammo and switching them back to blaster.

"What're you-" Jak was cut off when they had to dodge around more tornados, but he caught sight of a flash of blue and then a resulting streak, Tera no where in sight. The Baron went to ram him again, but cursed and spun when he was suddenly attacked from behind, unable to keep up with the blue streak that ran around and around him, firing off rounds of yellow ammo.

Jak began firing as well, taking advantage of the situation. The Baron's mech rose shakily into the air, the outer parts exploding. Jak cursed when he saw that the main pod had survived, and that the Baron was undamaged.

"The dark powers I have you can't protect you forever!" he shouted, "Since I made you, I can destroy you! We'll meet again soon!" he flew away down beside the palace, Jak moving to look over the edge.

"Yeah, whatever," Daxter rolled his eyes, "Bye bye."

Jak smirked, then frowned, noticing the lack of a certain blond, "Tera?"

"You rang?" he turned at the amused voice, staring at the girl who stood perched up by the final electrical gate, hands on her hips, "What are you looking at?"

"Tera?" he repeated, still staring as he jogged over to her. The girl's skin was littered with randomized blue streaks, her hair completely blue and her eyes more deeply saturated then normal, "What happened?"

"I told you I got into the Underground because of my channeling abilities," she grinned, flashing a fanged smile at her friend, "I can channel a lot better then I used to now, so it comes in handy from time to time."

"So I see," he forced a chuckle, "Are the changes temporary?"

She nodded, "They'll fade in a couple of hours, as they always do. Now come on," she glanced at her comm., "Torn's calling us again, so we'd better get over there."

Jak nodded, heading into the elevator after the girl and then following her out again, snagging another zoomer in order to get to the hideout more quickly. Heading down, it was easy to spot Torn standing behind the table yet again, though this time, Kor was standing next to him and the kid was sitting on the table between them.

The commander looked up at them when they entered, frown deepening, "The city is on high alert. What the hell did you three do?!" he growled.

"Us?!" Daxter hopped onto the table, "uhh… nothing. We've been… ah… sightseeing, right guys?"

"Really? Then why are the Krimzon Guard looking for…" he paused, looking down at the paper in front of him, "a 'dangerous young man with light hair, blue tunic, an eco channeler'," he paused to pin a look at Tera, "and a 'rabid orange RAT on his shoulder'?!" the kid pointed to Daxter on the last line, not knowing what was going on.

Daxter paused in gnawing his nails, "Ahh… could be anyone! Orange is the new black this season!"

"Look," Jak sighed, "we climbed up to the Baron's palace … and… we tripped a few alarms.

"Oh right… that too," Daxter agreed.

"What?!" Torn growled, "I didn't authorize a strike on the-"

"Hey! We kicked the Baron's ass! Unfortunately, he escaped." Tera watched the child while Jak explained things, eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed oddly familiar…

"And we overheard a secret meeting with the leader of the Metal Heads!" Daxter added, Torn and Kor sharing a look, the kid covering his mouth in surprise.

"You saw the Metal Head leader?" Kor questioned, the three shaking their heads.

"No, he was on some communicator," Tera cut in, "but we heard him talking with Baron Praxis."

"The Baron is bribing the Metal Heads with eco!" Daxter piped up again.

"Hmph," Kor scoffed, "it will never be enough."

"But the Baron's gonna double cross 'em!" the ottsel apparently hadn't finished.

"Is that so?" Kor stroked his chin in thought, not paying attention to the kid who had now hidden behind him, "Well, our good Baron's wonderful 'charm' must have angered someone, because there's word from the Wasteland that Metal Head armies are on the move again!"

Jak ignored the old man, turning to Torn again, "Why didn't you tell me Ashelin was Praxis's daughter? What's your connection with her?"

"That's none of your business!" the tattooed man snapped, "Since you've stirred up the wumpbee's nest, you two and whiskers here need to get four of our people to new safe houses. Shuttle each agent to a location they specify. Move all of them WITHOUT any casualties. Don't screw this up, Jak!"

"_Don't screw this up, Jak_!" the blond mimicked once they were out of Torn's hearing range, earning snickers from both Daxter and Tera. They approached the two double seater's that sat outside the hideout, Tera pausing before them.

"Lets split up and each take two agents, it'll go quicker that way since," she pointed at the black sky, "we should probably try and get some sleep tonight."

Jak nodded, "Alright, we'll meet you back at the apartment." Tera nodded and hopped into one of the zoomer's, immediately taking off in the direction of her first agent. Jak followed suit, heading after his own.

The mission wasn't hard, but it was annoying and tiresome. The Krimzon Guard's were after them almost immediately, as they now recognized and were after Jak due to his escapade on the rood. He wondered if Tera was having similar problems, but doubted it; unless they could see the small blue marks on her skin in the dark, then she would probably be fine.

Dropping the last agent off, Jak punched the gas and quickly lost the KG's that had been chasing them, giving a sigh of relief.

"_Good work Jak, you and Blue Eco got all the agents to safety,"_ Torn's voice came from the comm., "_Eco finished about five minutes ago; you three are done for the night, but I expect you back at the hideout first thing in the morning. Torn out."_

Jak was glad to be done, turning the zoomer and speeding off towards their apartment. The silence that met them when they entered the apartment unnerved the renegade; had Tera not gotten back yet?

"Ter's probably sleepin' already," Daxter answered Jak's unspoken question, hopping down from his shoulder and heading for his own 'bed', "Using eco always wears her out. Night, Jak."

"Night, Dax," the blond waited until Daxter had tucked himself in before quietly moving to Tera's room, giving a wry grin at the sight that met him. Tera was indeed passed out on her bed, the girl having not even bothered to remove her boots or goggles. The blue was just beginning to fade from her skin and hair, her breathing steady.

Feeling zapped of energy himself, Jak didn't bother to remove his own boots or goggles, simply climbing on the bed behind his best friend and closed his eyes, drifting off quickly.

XX

Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Jak

XX

To tell the truth, I had forgotten about Tera's channeling abilities. In Sandover, she could absorb one, maybe two, small clusters of blue eco and run semi-fast for a few seconds or so. It was never a big factor; she still left all the activating and problem solving to me, as generally it took more then a few seconds of eco power to complete said tasks. She really only used it when we needed to escape quick and she needed that little extra boost to out run a lurker. As I said, I never thought much of it; it was just one of those little things that made her 'Tera'.

From what I can tell, today she used the equivalent of a full eco charge, not even thinking about it before she was off, a blue streak rushing around and firing at the Baron. Before we came here, she would've been put into a coma from that much eco. Guess now I know why her code names 'Blue Eco'. Heh. The changes it left her with worried me a bit, I'll admit; I never used to change when I took in a full charge of blue, yellow or red eco. It makes me wonder how saturated she is; not as much as Mazior, the old blue sage, obviously. Her skin isn't blue, after all.

Tera's changed a lot in the two years since we came here, we all have. But she still treats me the same, and so I'll treat her the same. Well, mostly. I don't think I should piss her off anytime soon.

Mar that girl can swear now.

XX

End Introspection.

XX


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the update delay people! I was really busy last weekend, so I didn't get the chance to work on this. I seem to have lost a few of my reviewers though; that makes me sad, lol. Anyways, I'm back with another chapter now! And to my two reviewers:

**Light-Eco-Freak:** Lol, nope, it's not, but a lot of people probably swear in Haven city. And she's always had blue eco powers, just never used em cause they used to be so weak. I agree, I missed the eco in the other games as well. Awesome! I'll have to check your fic out! Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** I'm glad you liked it! Lol, thanks, I thought it was funny XD Thanks for the review!

And now, on with the chapter! Which reveals some stuffs and… ah just go read!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Eight: The Shadow**

The next morning, the trio woke up and got ready as usual, heading off towards the hideout. Jak once more hijacked a zoomer first, leaving Tera to grumble about it the entire way there. They reached it without any incidents for once, as Jak didn't feel like crashing into KG's this morning. Heading down into the meeting room when they reached it, they approached the table, Torn looking up at them seriously.

"Scouts report movement in Dead Town," his voice was quieter then normal, "Creatures moving towards the Sacred Site. Just as before."

The three frowned, Daxter voicing their question, "What happened… ah, before?"

"Metal Heads broke through the old city wall. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled back," Torn's voice was filled with hate now, "leaving everyone outside the 'new barrier' to die. Only the Shadow stayed, and somehow stopped the attack."

"And now you expect us to go out there again?" Jak questioned, frowning.

"You catch on fast!" Torn smirked, "If you prevent the Metal Heads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be… most grateful. He might even ask to see you."

Daxter turned to walk out, Tera and Jak glancing at each other before moving to follow him.

"Hey," Torn's voice stopped them, "I'm probably wasting this," he slid a gun mod across the table to Jak, "but here's a Vulcan Barrel for that pea shooter of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need it."

Jak loaded the mod onto his gun, aiming it towards a wall and grinning at the power he held. Torn shook his head with a sigh, Tera rolling her eyes and leading her now smirking friend out of the hideout, grabbing a zoomer while he was occupied and speeding off once he was on.

"What's the whole story behind the Sacred Site?" he questioned as they rushed towards the entrance to the area, Tera shrugging briefly.

"I don't know!" she admitted, "I've never thought to ask because I've never been sent there before."

They fell into silence as they flew, soon arriving at the access gate to Dead Town as it wasn't very far from the hideout. Both teens drew their guns as the doors hissed and opened, Jak sticking with his blaster for the moment. Entering, they immediately took down the wave of stingers that sprung up from the ground, moving forwards when they were all gone.

Jak shot down the Grunt standing on the island ahead of them, the three continuing forwards quickly, not liking the creepy feel of the area. The three grunts up top went down easily, the trio moving on again. Tera motioned for Jak to pause again, motioning towards the upright standing Metal Head on the Island ahead of them.

"That's a Slinger, we're lucky it hasn't noticed us," she grinned slightly, switching her own guns to their blue mod's, "Want to see what a Vulcan can do?"

Jak nodded, and Tera turned, flipping down her goggles and pinpointing her aim on the Slinger. A sudden wave of bullets tore from each of her guns, ripping through the creature and knocking it out in a matter of seconds, the Grunt following as it turned to come after them. The girl grinned again at Jak's dumbfounded look, jumping down to the island and heading towards a set of small wooden platforms, "Hurry up! I want to get out of here as soon as we can."

Jak agreed mentally, quickly following after his friend. They paused on the next island, each taking out one of the Slingers that waited ahead of them before moving on, both switching to their Blaster mods to take out the second wave of Stingers that jumped at them.

They jumped up the small hill in front of them, climbing onto the wall and shooting down the two grunts that waited there before moving on, following the wall around to the next ledge. Here they took down more Stingers, Jak quickly switching to his Vulcan Mod to take out the Grunt Gunner that appeared from around a corner. Four more Grunts and two more Grunt Gunners fell as they moved around another corner, heading up a set up steps to a slightly higher area.

One more pack of Grunts waited for them in the next area, but they made quick work of them with their blasters, rushing onwards and taking care of the final Stingers and Slingers that stood around yet another corner of the dilapidated building. Sighing in relief when all fell quiet around them, they moved forwards and around the corner.

The three froze momentarily, staring in horror at the 'Sacred Site'.

"Is that… is that… no, it couldn't be… that's not…"

"It's… Samos' Hut…" Jak cut the ottsel off, voice disbelieving.

"No… it can't be…" Tera breathed, shaking her head in denial as she stared at the now wrecked hut, the place she'd grown up in. The girl put a hand on Jak's shoulder to hold herself up, suddenly feeling weak at this sight.

"But… what? How? When? Where?! Why?!?!"

"We're in the future…" Jak breathed, "This… horrible place… is… our world!"

"This is Sandover…" Tera whispered, looking around at the destroyed area surrounding them, "this is where we grew up… Sentinal Beach, Forbidden Jungle, Rock Village… everything! They're all gone… what could've happened to lead to this?"

"I don't know Ter," Jak frowned, "I really don't know. But we need to get out of here before any more Metal Heads come back."

The girl nodded silently, letting him lead her back towards the exit. Luckily, no creatures had reappeared, and they were able to make it back safely. Jak grabbed a zoomer and sped off towards the hideout, slightly worried about his companion when she didn't gripe about his driving at all. Seeing her old home so torn up had really gotten to her.

"Good job, Jak," Torn's voice came from his comm. as it popped up, "The Shadow wants to meet you all, come on back to the hideout."

"Maybe we can get some answers now," he muttered, accelerating quickly. They reached the hideout in a matter of minutes, heading down. Torn stood just inside the entrance, smirking, his arms crossed as he blocked the view of whatever was behind him.

"The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you," he stated simply.

"Why is that place in the old ruins so important to you?" Jak questioned, hands resting on his hips. Tera still remained silent.

"There's a powerful energy force at the old house. The Metal Heads are drawn to it," he explained simply.

Daxter pushed himself up as far as he could, trying to look over Torn's shoulder at the small man standing at the table as Jak continued, "No kidding. We used to know the guy that lived there."

"Sooo," the man began to speak as Torn moved to the side, the trio moving forwards but freezing in shock when they spotted him, "you're the new recruits who keep getting into trouble."

"Oh no, not you!" Daxter exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

The younger looking Samos continued, not paying attention to Daxter, "Welcome to our humble Underground movement. I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?"

"Sheesh Jak!" Daxter exclaimed, jumping to the ground and approaching the older man, "we went through all that to meet his holiness, ol' log on the head, grandpa green?!"

Tera had looked up by now, but she still stayed behind Jak, "Father…"

"Don't you know who we are?" Jak questioned, Samos shaking his head.

"Sorry kid, never seen you before. And I never forget a face, especially one that ugly," he pointed to Daxter, the ottsel sighing.

"So it begins…"

"How is this possible?" Jak started, putting a hand on his forehead, "We came through the rift gate with you… into the future… right?"

"Yeah!" Daxter cut the sage off when he went to talk, "You used to look older then dirt and uglier then a knotted stump. What gives? Did you get a little nip and tuck while we were gone?"

"Listen you three," Samos put his hands on his hips, "I don't know what kind of twigs you've been chewing on, but I don't have time for this," he turned, moving back to the table again, "We've got a Baron to overthrow, a child heir to protect, an invasion of Metal Heads to stop, and a city to save. I'd say the schedule's pretty full! Besides, I haven't gone through any rifts. I hate teleporting!"

"Sure sounds like the ol' Samos," Daxter muttered. Tera had fallen silent again, though Jak could tell that his lack of recognition got to her.

"Right now I need you to go to Haven Forest and root out a few Metal Heads," the Underground leader continued as though nothing weird had been said, "That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer. Chase down and destroy all the Metal Head scouts you find there. Good luck, and welcome to the fight!"

The ride over to the forest was completely silent, as none of them knew just what to say. It was Samos, yet… not. On the way, Jak's comm. once more popped up, the voice of Krew's racing client coming from it, "I left my Jet board at the air lock to the city exit, since you'll be needing it. Since you're helping the Underground, you can even keep it."

Silence resumed as soon as the comm. had floated back into his pouch, the three hopping off when they reached the entrance to the city exit. The Jet board was waiting inside the air lock, as promised.

"Woot! The Jet board's ours! I call shotgun!" Daxter cheered as Jak grabbed the board, converting it to its compact form before attaching it to his back 'pack'. The three then continued inside, taking the warp gate back up to the entrance to the Mountain Temple. A different platform was illuminated this time, and they stepped onto it, waiting while it took them through a Precursor tunnel in the mountain and out to a vast area of green.

"You gonna wait here while I get the Metal Heads?" he questioned, looking to Tera. The girl nodded, flopping down backwards on the grass of the entrance and waving him off.

"Yah, go have fun," Jak rolled his eyes, pulling out the Jet Board and taking off into the forest, Daxter going along with him and thus leaving the girl by herself.

Tera took the alone time to think; so they had found a Samos… but it apparently wasn't their Samos. It made no sense to her, but not much was making any sense these days. Haven was Sandover's future; how their small, peaceful world had become such a big place filled with hate she didn't know, and wasn't sure she wanted to.

They also had yet to find Keira, which made her worry even just slightly. Even though they didn't really get alone, the teal haired girl was still her sister. Tera had all but died of boredom by the time Jak got back, smirking as he jumped off the Jet board and put it back on his back. They left the forest quickly, the sun just barely beginning to set as they headed back into the city.

Just as they entered the farming section, Jak's comm. went off again, Krew's voice making Tera wince slightly.

"I have another job for you, Jak," came the heaving voice, "I need you to go down to the port and get rid of some new Listening Devices that the Krimzon Guard has put into place. You'll have to use that Jet board of yours, eh?"

The comm. floated back down, Jak punching their hijacked zoomer in the direction of the port. Yet again, Jak took care of the mission, as Tera hadn't had any practice with the Jet Board and her friend didn't want her going anywhere near mines until she had. Once he had taken them all out and returned to where Tera was waiting, his comm. popped out again, Krew once more speaking through it.

"Good work my boy. Ah, it seems not everyone can be bought out, ah well, come back to the Hip Hog will you…" the voice trailed off again.

Tera sighed, "Here we go again."


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the update delay peoples! And also… is anyone else having problems uploading stuff to or o.o Cause they won't seem to let me upload anything… But anyways, hopefully I'll be able to post fairly soon. To my lovely reviewers!

**Nostalgic Beauty:** Lol, thanks! Thank you for the review!

**Empty Tranquility:** Lmao, yup, yay for reviews. I'm glad you're liking it, thanks for the review!

**Miracle Mar:** Donno, but I have seen you on DEVIANTART ZOMG! XD And I donno what scene you're talking about; I haven't posted any TAE related art on there except for Ter's character sheets :P Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** I'm glad you liked it! And we still have….. _counts _nine chapters to go, including this one. Wee! Anyways, thanks for the review!

Also, there will only be three books to this series now. Book4 would be way to hard to write, lol. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Nine: Child Heir**

Walking to Krew's saloon wasn't a big deal, as it was just around the corner from the port. The three stayed silent as they entered, passing by a Krimzon Guard on his way out. It was amazing that he didn't recognize Jak, but that could be considered a blessing of sorts.

Krew sighed as they drew near, going into dramatics, "The Baron has sent his goons to harass me again… health violations, back taxes… everyone wants a piece of me! Good work with those listening devices, eh, I don't want anyone snooping around my new project… I have another job for you three," he quit the dramatics, going back to business, "An associate of mine, Brutter, is paying me to help free lurkers. The _poor_ creatures have been enslaved by the Baron, and I've agreed to safely shuttle them out of the city. There are three transports carrying lurkers to a project the Baron has going on outside the city. You three will have to track down the transports, them out, and bring the lurkers back to Brutter's trinket stand in the Bazaar. Oh, and here's a weapon upgrade for you."

Jak nodded, turning and heading out, keeping an eye on Tera. Once they had exited, he scanned the sky for a bigger zoomer, "You want to stick together on this one?"

The blonde nodded, "Might be a good idea…" Jak returned the action. He remembered how terrified the girl had always been of Lurkers; even if they wouldn't hurt her now, they still brought back bad memories. Jumping up and grabbing onto a three seater as it passed, he waited for Tera to get in before switching to the high hover zone, taking off in the direction of the beacon on his map. They found the transport fairly easily, Tera and Daxter taking it down with their Vulcan mods. They dropped down to the lower level to grab the lurker, Tera freezing up as soon as it was on the zoomer. This was how the entire mission went, and finally the last lurker had been shuttled to Brutter's place, the three Underground operatives heading over. Brutter himself turned out to be a lurker wearing glasses and some sort of clothing.

The lurker looked ecstatic, and grinned at Daxter, "Little orangey warrior! You have done great thing for Brutter and Lurker people!" he started kissing the ottsel all over the face, Daxter jumping back with a gagging sound.

"Eeeck! No toucha the do!"

"Oh, sorry… you great guys! Brutter not forget. Brutter pay you back. You see!"

"Yah… sure…" Tera mumbled, following Jak away from the Lurker quickly. Even if they were harmless now, she still didn't like them. They walked for a bit, not really sure what to do. Their comm. units weren't showing any missions, so they were apparently free to wander a bit. Turning a corner, they paused, spotting Ashelin and a few guards standing nearby.

The two blondes glanced at each other before nodding and heading over, Daxter calling out as they approached.

"How's it riding in the hood, red?"

A guard blocked them off, but Ashelin pushed forwards, frowning, "Get out of the area. This is Krimzon Guard business. One of Vin's eco tankers is coming in from the wasteland, but the clearance transmission sounded fishy. The driver was scared. We're going to check it out, just incase."

"How can we help?" Jak questioned. Ashelin waved him off.

"I've got it handled."

A screeching noise broke through everything, the tanker suddenly flying down and crashing into the ground, taking out the three Krimzon Guards that had been waiting with Ashelin. The four managed to make it out alright unharmed, Daxter yelling when metal heads suddenly appeared from inside it.

"Ahhh! A Metal Head sneak attack!"

"Damn!" Ashelin swore, pulling out her gun, "It's just us! Help me take out all the Metal Heads!"

She didn't have to say it twice. Tera and Jak took off, shooting down all the Metal Heads that came into sight. There were two waves in total, but with four guns going they were fairly easy to take down.

Ashelin kicked a barrel once the enemies were all gone, "We got 'em all! The Metal Heads are getting bolder every day. It's almost like they're testing our defenses, like probing attacks," she shook her head, turning and walking off, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah… you're welcome," Jak muttered, glancing at his comm. when it started to beep, "Come on you two… Samos is calling us…"

"Joy," Tera sighed, following after her friend. They hijacked another zoomer and took off towards the hideout, landing at the usual corner and walking in. They were surprised to see Samos waiting outside for them, the kid from before running around him in circles, a crocadog following him.

"I want you three to escort the kid over to Kor at the Power Station," the sage began when he spotted them, the three now included in the kids circle, "He promised to look out for the boy, and I'm just too busy to baby-sit right now. Oh," he paused, "and take the kid's… crocadog with you…"

The sage moved to go back inside, but the crocdog stopped in front of him, growling, "Oh… hehe… isn't he sweet…"

"So what's this kids story?" Jak asked.

"I found him just wandering the streets. But that amulet around his neck means he may just be the lost heir to the city. Take the kid and the mutt to the Power Station. Watch out for guard patrols and defend the kid at all costs."

The kid stepped forwards, reaching up to grasp onto Jak's hand. The renegade pulled his hand away in surprise, not sure what to do. Tera rolled her eyes at him, bending and waving at the kid, taking his hand and standing back up when he moved beside her.

"Oh…" Samos started again, "and if you happen to lose the crocadog…" the dog growled at the sage again.

"Let's go then," Tera laughed slightly when the kid started pulling her along, the girl drawing one of her pistols and hurrying to keep up with him. Jak drew his own gun and followed after, smirking slightly at the picture his friend made with the kid; it was quite amusing actually.

His grin faded when Krimzon Guards approached them as soon as they turned the corner, all shouting and going after the kid. Tera tugged him along urgently now, shooting at the ones ahead of her as best she could. She growled softly to herself; they were moving to slow. Putting her gun away, she dropped to her knees, looking to the kid, "Get on my back, hurry!"

The kid did as told, and Tera took off running with the crocadog beside her, Jak following and taking care of any guards that stood in their way. They reached the zoomer marked on their maps and jumped in, Jak speeding off towards the next point. Tera kept a tight hold on the kid, springing out of the zoomer with him on her back again as soon as they landed, rushing towards the ramp that led to the Power Station. Jak followed after, doing his best to keep back the guards that came after them.

Unfortunately, he failed to notice one of the guards that had been called in as reinforcement, the man in red taking aim at Tera as she ran and firing. The blonde girl hissed, stumbling slightly; the bullet hadn't hit her directly, but it had grazed her side fairly deeply, the wound already beginning to bleed. Tera grit her teeth, doing her best to keep going; she wouldn't let the kid get taken. She refused to be called weak ever again.

She'd just made it to the end of the ramp when she fell with a cry of pain, landing on her knees on the ground. She cursed under her breath, trying to get up and failing. The kid got down and came around, staring at the wound in horror. "Kid… you have to keep going," she managed, still gritting her teeth. The kid shook his head, his crocadog growling beside him as the guards began to approach. Fuck…

Daxter caught sight of his fallen friend, immediately tugging on Jak's ear, "Jak! Ter's down!"

Jak's head snapped up at the words, gaze pinning on the fallen girl and the kid. He saw the red that was beginning to soak through her shirt, dark eco flaring as anger rose through him. They had hurt Tera… his friend… they would pay. Jak screamed as Dark broke through, his features becoming those of the demons in an instant. He flew through the guards, a flurry of action, taking down them all with his claws.

Tera heard the scream, her ears lowering. She pulled the kid over and held him tight, not wanting him to see the destruction Jak would cause in his dark form. Her vision was beginning to go blurry from blood loss, and she felt like she was about to pass out. Her eyes closed as darkness took over, falling limply to the ground just as Jak finished off the final guards. He reverted, panting, his eyes going to Tera and widening.

"Tera!" he ran over, shaking the girl gently; all he got in reply was a groan. Frowning in worry, Jak scooped the girls limp body up and rushed up to the power station, the kid and crocadog following after quickly. He burst into the room, startling Kor; the old man glanced at Tera worriedly before his gaze went back to Jak.

"A guard… managed to get her…" he panted, "Can you help…?"

"Calm down, my boy," Kor spoke, first checking the child before motioning to the ground, "Just put her down and I'll be sure to look after her. I have some valuable information for you, about another scheme of the Baron's."

Jak set Tera down so that she was sitting propped against the control panels, still watching her worriedly. This was the first time his friend had ever been hurt so seriously; he hadn't realized how much it would terrify him.

"She will be fine, Jak; nothing that a little green eco can't heal," Kor assured him, handing a health pack to the kid to use on her wound, "I have a request, if you're willing to take on a job. I'll look after her while you're gone."

Jak nodded, though his eyes stayed on the girl, "What is it?"

"The Baron is conducting an excavation at the Dig. He is still looking for that ridiculous tomb. Frankly, I don't believe it exists, but you might as well go out there and disrupt his operation just in case. Knock down all the scaffolding at the site; that should set him back. Here is an air train pass to get you out there," he handed Jak a pass, the blonde glancing back at Tera one last time before heading out, determined to finish up the mission as quick as possible so he could get back to check on her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jak jumped off the jet board just as he finished unsnapping the last of the support cables, watching as the drill began to go crazy. It wobbled a few times before exploding into a million tiny pieces, Jak sighing in relief. He turned to head out, planning on going back to the power station to check on Tera. He stopped when his comm. went off, showing he was being called back to the Hip Hog. Frowning, he decided to just get whatever Krew wanted done as quickly as possible before heading back to get Tera…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tera groaned, her senses slowly returning to her. She could sense someone in front of her, someone whose body was filled with dark eco… but it wasn't Jak. This person felt threatening… and the dark eco was coming closer…

Tera's eyes snapped open with a gasp, the girl staring at Kor in surprise. Her eyes flicked around the power station, remembering what had happened when her gaze landed on the kid. Her hand went to where her wound had been, not really surprised to find it was healed; mixed with green eco, the blue eco in her body tended to heal any injuries fairly quickly.

"Good to see you're awake," Kor spoke, standing straight again. Tera stared at him for a moment; had she been imagining things just moments ago? She could've sworn that…

The blonde shook these thoughts from her mind, slowly standing up despite Kor's protects, "Thanks… for watching me or whatever… I-I'm gonna go…"

Tera managed to stumble outside, leaning against the railing of the walkway with a sigh, ears lowering. She was still weak from blood loss; it would take a while to get her strength back. Jak and Daxter had probably gone off on another mission… it would be best for her to just return to their apartment and sleep till her energy came back.

Sighing again, she let go of the railing and turned to walk off, squeaking in surprise when she instead ran into a blue covered chest. Looking up, she blinked sheepishly at Jak, the male staring down at her with his eyebrows raised.

"Uh… hey Jak. When'd you get back?" she mumbled, fighting back a blush.

"A couple of minutes ago," he frowned down at her, "how's your wound?"

"Healed; the eco in my system always heals my injuries fast," she replied, "I'm still weak though… so I figured I'd just go to the apartment and get some sleep so I'll be ok tomorrow…"

"Hmm," Jak considered her for a moment before bending and scooping her up, ignoring her flustered protest, "you said it yourself; you're still weak. So I'm helping you save your energy by not making you walk," he smirked, glancing at her as he walked, "chill, Tera."

The girl huffed and resigned herself to crossing her arms and staying quiet, her cheeks burning red. It was nice to know he worried about her, but this didn't help how she felt any…


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Note:** OMG I'm so sorry for the long update wait you guys! The past few weeks has been crazy what with projects, homework and my birthday stuffs going on last weekend. I promise I'll do my best to keep to my updating schedule from now on! Especially since there's only six chapters left (including this one)! Which means that this is over halfway done and soon I will be starting Book3! Yay! Lol. Now, to my lovely reviewers who I have been neglecting:

**Nostalgic Beauty:** Lol, glad you liked it. Wasn't really aiming to make them 'romantic' moments, but oh well lol. Thanks for the review!

**Miracle Mar:** Haha, that picture doesn't have a THING to do with TAE :P Even says so in the pic description. It may have Ter in it, but it's from an AIM rp I was having with my friend at the time. Doesn't happen in TAE, lol, sorreh. Lol, glad you liked it, and yes, I like to torture my own character to much. Thanks for the review!

**Twilight Angell:** Shwee, lol, good to see you around:D Sucks about your old username though, stupid ff being stupid… Anyways, lol, I'm glad you're liking this! Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** Oh yes, Tera gets embarrassed so easily. Specially around Jak, lmao. Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

Now, without further ado, on with the chapter that took so long to come!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Ten: An Old Friend**

"Are we almost there?" Tera yawned, stretching her arms out above her head as Jak continued to swerve their zoomer through the twisty paths of the water slums, following a beacon on his comm. unit.

"Almost," the male replied, eyeing the comm. as he drove, "Brutter said the seal piece'll be hanging on his door… guess lurkers don't get high end housing."

"You can say that again! Yeuck," Daxter made a choking noise from his friends shoulder, "It smells worse then a Hip Hog's breath after dinner."

"Which is exactly why we're just getting the seal and then getting out," Tera yawned again, rolling her neck to get out the kinks that had appeared over night, "Man I'm tired… that wound really took a lot out of me… but not so much that I should've stayed behind, Jak."

Jak's mouth snapped shut, the male giving an innocent grin when the blue channeler pinned an annoyed glare on him, "Fine fine, lets just get the seal then head back to the apartment or wherever we get sent next."

The three renegades hoped down to the rickety board walk of the water slums when they got close enough, walking over to the door indicated on Jak's comm.. The seal piece was hanging from a nail in the door, Jak snatching it with a grin.

"_That is it!"_ the three jumped when Brutter's voice appeared from a comm. next to them, _"Piece of seal, yes? Nice and shiny, huh? All yours!"_ the three rolled their eyes at the excited lurker, but jumped again when the comm. suddenly turned to 'look' behind them, _"Uh-oh, I think red troopers approaching!"_

"Oh not this again," the two blondes grabbed their guns when they spotted the KG transport up ahead of them, a wave of guards coming at them, the renegades immediately using their Vulcan mods on them. They rushed forwards once the first wave was gone, hanging a tight left at the next boardwalk and continuing on.

Jak took care of the guards coming from the front while Tera took out the ones trying to sneak up on them, grabbing the ammo they dropped as they ran onwards, Daxter's shouts only adding more to the confusion rather then helping any.

The water slums were a death maze with KG crawling throughout them, pushing the renegades ahead. They rushed around the hazardous corners and dead ends, taking down the KG as they went; the red guards were everywhere, but the three weren't about to let themselves get killed.

"Almost there!" Daxter shouted, motioning wildly to the exit of the water slums. Jak and Tera pushed onwards again, shooting down everything that moved; which, thankfully, was pretty much all Krimzon Guards. They took out the final group slowly, as they were now coming at them from every direction, before finally reaching the exit.

The three stood, panting, when the comm. popped up again, Brutters voice just as excited as before, "_"You did it! You guys great hero's! Seal all yours!"_

"Stupid lurkers…" Tera sighed, slipping her guns back into her holsters, "the KG are probably still on high alert, so we'd better get out of here. And I just realized… we never went back to tell that 'client' of Krew's that we destroyed his cargo."

Jak nodded, "You're right. Let's head over there now and get the insult slinging out of the way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We destroyed Krew's cargo," Jak informed the mechanic as they entered her garage, the woman still working on her secret project behind the curtains.

"Great," the mechanics voice was heavy with sarcasm, "I'll send you a medal. Now, if you don't mind, I'm on a deadline, so sc-"

"Are you always this difficult?" Jak growled, fed up with the woman's behaviour.

"Let me handle this, Jak," Daxter stepped forwards, "Listen lady, we beat your stupid course, and we can outrace anybody in this city! And there's just two things you need to know. One, we don't wanna join your stinking race team and two…" the ottsel ran his hands over his run, "you just lost a date with Orange Lightning. Let's go you guys…"

The three turned to leave, the curtain snapping open behind them to reveal a very familiar teal haired girl.

"Daxter, it IS you!"

"Keira?!" Daxter jumped, staring.

"Oh I never thought I'd be so glad to see your furry mug!" the girl rushed forwards, pinching the ottsels cheeks. Spotting Tera, she gasped, standing and grabbing her sister in a tight hug, "Tera! You've changed so much! You finally got a bit taller!"

Tera was unable to say anything, still in shock that they had found her sister. Keira let go of the blonde, turning towards Jak, "And Jak! You look…" she froze, her hands coming up to her mouth, "different…"

Tera and Daxter winced at the greeting, Jak looking down as though he was ashamed, "It's been a tough ride…"

"The baron pumped our boy here full o'Dark Eco, and it did something to him," Daxter took it upon himself to explain, "Now he's got super moves or something, and a few anger issues as well!"

"I've been looking for you guys forever!" Keira changed the subject, her eyes remaining on Tera and Daxter as she spoke, "And planning a way for us to get back home." She motioned to the object behind the curtain, turning back towards it, "Somehow that rift took us far into the future. I've calculated the time displacement, and I think I've-"

"We found your father," Jak cut her off, "Well… sort of."

"Working with the Underground fighting the Baron!" Daxter exclaimed, "But he's… ahh…"

"What?" Keira questioned.

"You need to go see him," Tera answered, frowning slightly, "Just… don't be surprised if he doesn't recognize you…"

"And I need to get to the Baron." Jak cut in, Keira considering it for a moment.

"You could try to win the class one racing Championship. The winner of that big race always gets to meet the Baron in the Palace," she paused for a moment, "But you have to qualify by winning the lower class races. There's a class three race staring soon. You can drive for my team! But Jak," Keira lifted the welding helmet off her head, "we should think about getting out of here. I don't like this place. And some of the people are creepy…"

Jak went to reply, but was cut off again when Krew suddenly flew inside the building.

"Jak, my boy. I need that Ruby Key you found, eh. A 'special client' has requested it."

"Sorry about that, Krew," Jak forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "I… must've forgotten."

"Right," Krew grinned, catching the key when it was tossed at him, the fat man flying off yet again.

"Oh yah," Tera mumbled, crossing her arms, "Lots of creepy people."

"_Class Three Race starting in three minutes. All racers please proceed to the race track,"_ Jak sighed at the announcement, looking to the girls once Daxter had jumped onto his shoulder.

"Here goes nothing," the two watched the guys leave, Keira turning to Tera and grabbing her wrist when they were gone.

"Lets go watch; I know where the best seats are," she started pulling the blonde out towards the race track, sending her a grin, "It's good to see you, sis."

Tera attempted a smile, "Yah… you to."

The two girls slid into a pair of seats in the stands, talking quietly about what had been happening in the past two years. They stood up and cheered with everyone else when the race started, routing for Jak. The blonde managed to stay in first place the entire time, winning the race easily. Tera and Keira jumped out and cheered, heading back to the garage to meet with Jak.

They reached it just before he did, Keira hopping up onto the work bench just as the blonde strode in, grinning widely. Jak set the winners cup down beside the girl, Daxter jumping down from his shoulder, "When is this city gonna provide some challenge?!"

"Hey," the group turned at the voice, Ashelin striding up from behind them, "I watched you race today. You were pretty amazing out there."

"Oh, thanks…" Jak wasn't sure how to respond, turning when Keira hopped down from the work bench, "Uh, Keira, this is Ashelin. She's just…"

"Everyone knows who she is," the girl cut him off, frowning.

"And Keira's a…"

"A friend," Keira crossed her arms, eyes narrowed, "A very _good_ friend."

Daxter made a hissing motion over behind them, Tera simply rolling her eyes and remaining silent. She didn't plan on getting messed up in this one.

"Thanks for helping out with that tanker, Jak," Ashelin strode closer, placing her hand on his shoulder, "You saved a lot of lives." The red head turned, pausing at the exit to the garage, "I'm not my father, you know. Ever since I was a little girl, I've looked down at the city streets from that ridiculous Palace, and imagined a better place," she paused when a group of KG's walked past, frowning when she continued, "By the way, they're hunting for you. I'd watch out for Errol. I can't protect you from him."

Daxter waited all of ten seconds before opening his mouth once more, "Whew, she's a betty! And she likes you, Jak!" he paused, smirking, "not that I can account for her tastes." The ottsel jumped up, ignoring the looks he was getting from his three friends, "I bet you'd love to pin some medals on her chest, eh? Heh heh…"

Keira glared at Jak, crossing her arms and walking off silently, Daxter frowning, "What? What'd I say? What'd you say Jak?"

"Oh brother," Tera put a hand on her forehead, sighing. What a way to piss off her sister. She glanced down at her comm., grabbing Jak's arm to pull him out of the garage, "C'mon, we're getting a beep from Vin. Better go check it out…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tera slipped onto one of the bar stools at the Hip Hog, resting her head on her arms with a groan, "I officially hate today."

First they'd found Keira only to majorly piss her off, then Vin had sent them to the Strip Mines to detonate Eco wells with already activated bombs, and _then_ Kor had sent them back to the Drill Platform to take down an Eco ship and probably about a thousand Krimzon Guards. Could it get any worse? Probably.

Jak chose to simply stand behind his friend, Daxter making it his duty to cheer his friends up with a story.

"So there I was, toe to toe with five of the nastiest Metal Heads you ever saw! Slime oozing from monstrous jaws! Teeth sharper then daggers! Slowly, all _ten_ of 'em surround me! But do I surrender? No! I summon my highly trained killer instincts, and pounce! Hya! Chooy! Whaa! Haa! And when the dust cleared, there were _twenty_ less Metal Heads in the world!"

"Ohh, Daxter, you're amazing!" Tess leaned against the bar, watching the ottsel fondly. Jak and Tera shared a look, rolling their eyes; only Tess would believe Daxter's stories.

"Yeah, I know. Scratch me there," Tess giggled and did so, rubbing his back.

"Quite a story there, golden boy," Sig chuckled, stepping up to the bar, "I guess you're just the 'animal' I need for another dangerous gig. Combat Metal Heads have now been spotted right here in Haven Forest! These new bad boys have special camouflage, so they're tough to spot. But I'm sure with your 'killer instincts' you'll manage. Go to the forest and take 'em all out."

"C-Combat Metal Heads?" Daxter swallowed, standing up, "Eh.. y-yah! Sure we can take 'em out! We'll head down there right now!" he hopped onto Jak's shoulder, "Eer, right guys?"

"Fine," Tera groaned, dragging herself from her seat and following wearily after Jak, frowning, "Kill some Metal Heads and come back… shouldn't be to hard…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"REMIND ME TO MURDER SIG WHEN WE GET BACK!" Tera screeched, diving out of the way of yet another barrage of eco bullets, firing back while continuing to move. She had to use her eco just to stay out of the Metal Head's firing range! What they had thought would be a simple get in get out mission had turned out to be a long, drawn out attempt to avoid the seemingly _invisible_ Metal Heads while also trying to shoot them. Joy.

After two hours they were finally down to what seemed to be the last two, but those last two wanted to make things hard on them. Tera rushed forwards, firing and taking down one of the two cloakers with three shots, skidding to a stop when she reached the place it had been standing just seconds before. She looked down, backing up from the small cliff she was currently standing on. Turning, she yelped when, having not been paying attention to where he was going, Jak barreled into her, sending the three of them tumbling down the hill.

They landed with Jak on top, Tera hissing and arching slightly when pain flashed through her arm, glancing at it. Red seeped from the small cut caused by a rock, yet again where she had been bitten as a young teen back in Sandover. Why the hell did things like to hurt her there?!

"Ter, you ok?" Jak noticed the red, eyes widening.

"I'm fine," Tera eyes snapped open, "MOVE!" she shoved him off of her, rolling out of the way just as an eco beam hit where they had been laying mere seconds before. Jak jumped up and whirled, taking down the final Metal Head. The forest fell silent for a few seconds, his comm. soon popping up out of its holder.

"_Good work, cherries! I didn't think you had it in you. C'mon back now, you showed those beasts a thing or two!"_

Jak just shook his head, looking back over at Tera with a frown, the girl constantly trying to figure out how to wrap her wound with the medic tape she had pulled from her pack.

Jak walked over and grabbed her arm, ignoring the girl's complaints and swiping the tape from her, wrapping it tightly so that the bleeding would stop. Then he promptly grabbed the girl and hoisted her over his shoulder, smirking at her outraged cries and simply carrying her back up towards the Precursor platform that would take them back to the city gate, Tera cursing loudly the entire time.

XX

Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Tera

XX

When we found Keira, I thought that things would go back to the way they had been. I thought she would welcome Jak back with welcome arms and that the two of them would go back to being as close as they, not quite dating but always hoping. But no. Keira didn't do that. She hugged Daxter and me, and then she just _stared_ at Jak, said he looked _different_, looked at him like he wasn't _Jak_ anymore.

I've never been so angry in my life. I didn't do anything, didn't say anything, because Jak was there, but if he hadn't been Keira would've gotten an ear full. Couldn't she see how hurt Jak was by her words? My sister had changed; and not in a good way. She hadn't changed in the way Jak and I had. I had become stronger, tougher; the same with Jak. But Keira… her views had changed. She may have said she doesn't like Haven, but I can see how much it's grown on her. She's a mechanic in a world of machinery, rather then one of plants like Sandover. She belongs here now.

And that scared me, because if we ever get the chance to go back… if she doesn't want to, will Jak stay with her…?

XX

End Introspection

XX


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors Note:** Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates people! Things just haven't been that great the past few weeks… English ISU, Pig Dissection in biology, tests, I'm moving sometime this summer… so, yah. Not the best. But I'm updating today because it's so close to the end that it would be stupid of me to not update and to put it off. To my reviewers:

**Miracle Mar:** Aww, lol, its ok, we all have blonde moments sometimes. Keira was a jerk in that part, she really was D: I didn't change anything and that was how she acted in the game. And I'm sure Ter would love the help in killing Sig XD lol. YES THAT MISSION IS ANNOYING it took me like a hundred tries to beat it. Not kidding. Thanks for the review!

**Empty Tranquility:** I know eh. And yup! Book three shall be starting very soon! Lol, glad you're looking forward to it. Oh boy XD don't be expectin' any true romance for a long while you lol. Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** Roughly five more, actually, including this one lol. I'm glad you liked the chapter! XD Yes she was a bitch. Thanks for the review!

**Twilight Angell:** Yes she is, and I donno! D: … oi don't kill me if there isn't any JakTer stuffs till way later kay? XD Thanks for the review! Sorry for the update wait…

And now, on with the chapter! This one's got a bit of 'drama' in it, so enjoy!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two  
**

**Chapter Eleven: Mar's Tomb**

The bazaar was fairly quiet as it started to get later, people heading back to the relative 'safety' of their homes. Tera wished she could've been one of the ones heading home, the blonde sighing as she trotted along beside Jak and Daxter. They had been headed back to their apartment when Samos had called them, telling them to meet him down at Onin's tent. They were only going because they knew they would get an earful later if they didn't…

As they entered the tent, Samos and Onin turned towards them, Pecker perched on the Sages head rather then the mystic's for once. "The birdbrain and I were just talking about you Jak. Onin is very proud of what you did."

Jak frowned, "What I did?"

Pecker flapped back over to Onin, "What you did… what you'll do… it's all the same!"

"Will you stop with the deja voodoo stuff?!" Daxter exclaimed, "It's creepy!"

Onin began to wave her hands around, magic following the flow. Samos glanced at her before interpreting, "Onin says you must find the Tomb of Mar."

"Even now, Baron Praxis seeks the tomb, but only… arrrk! The one true heir of Mar can open the Tomb's seal." Tera and Jak glanced at each other skeptically, looking back to the three when Samos spoke again.

"We believe the kid is the key."

"The prophecies say the true heir of Mar must face the ancient Oracle. He alone must circumvent the cunning tests of manhood. He alone must wield the Precursor Stone, thereby unleashing… geez louise, fossil lady!" Pecker flipped, staring at Onin from over the rim of her hat, "Stop with the snotty mystic talk already! You know that it hurts me lips!"

Jak frowned, "Why is Mars tomb so important?"

"The fabled Precursor stone is rumored to sleep within the tomb, stupid," Pecker spat, "I added the stupid part. The Precursor stone contains vast eco energies. It can be used for great good, or… great eeeevil!" Pecker laughed, looking to Samos, "I just love saying that last part!"

Samos shook his head, looking back to the three renegades, "The Baron wants the Precursor stone for himself to rule the world. But he is playing with forces he does not understand."

"Which means we get more crappy missions," Tera muttered under her breath.

Jak sighed, "Okay Pecker, so how do I get this… Precursor Stone?"

Pecker went to speak, but Samos beat him to it, "First, you must go to the dig and find the lurker totem. Onin and I learned that a piece to the Seal of Mar is contained within its ancient carvings. You must find all three pieces of the seal to open Mars gate into the canyon."

"The dig?" Tera echoed as they left the tent, Jak already scanning the skies above them for a zoomer, "isn't that where you and Daxter went when I was… er… injured?"

"Yah… though I get the feeling that it's not KG's we're gonna be looking out for this time," Jak jumped up, grabbing a zoomer and knocking the driver out. Tera jumped in the passenger seat, and they sped off towards where the air train was waiting, silently taking it to the dig.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours later, after killing numerous metal heads, swinging over lava, and hitting switches, the three underground operatives had finally found the lurker totem that Samos had been referring to. Looking up, it was easy to see that the seal piece was on top of the totem.

"I'm on it!" Daxter moved to jump on the totem, then stopped, pointing at Jak, "Wait a minute! I think this time you should go get the thing!"

Tera and Jak shared a look before the male shrugged, beginning to climb to the top of the totem.

"Looks dodgy up there! Don't hurt yourself, Jak!" the ottsel called once his had reached the top, the blonde pulling on the seal piece to dislodge it. It finally came off, but a piece of the totem fell with it, landing on Daxter with a crash.

Jak jumped down, sighing and shaking his head. Tera did her best to hold back a laugh.

"It's a curse isn't it?" the ottsel mumbled, taking a deep breath once the two had pulled the piece of wood off him.

Tera looked down at her comm. when it went off, groaning, "Great, Torn's calling us. May as well go see what he wants, I guess."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yet again, Torn was pacing back and forth in front of his table when the three entered the Underground headquarters. The commander turned when he notice them, a grin on his lips.

"The Baron's coming down pretty hard. Whatever you've been doing, you're _really_ upset him."

Jak returned the grin with a smirk, "I'm just getting started."

"He's brought in new Krimzon Guard 'Hellcat' cruisers, making the streets dangerous for the Underground. We've already lost five men this week."

"Your _men_ should be able to take care of themselves," Jak frowned, turning his back on the commander and crossing his arms. A smirk formed seconds later as he looked back to Torn again, "but I wouldn't mind taking out a few Cruisers if that's what you're getting at."

Tera rolled her eyes at her friends words, Torn nodding simply to the blonde male, "Never part of a bigger cause, eh Jak? Fine, I'll take your help any way I can get it. Bring down all five Hellcat Cruisers. That should send the Baron a message."

"On it," Jak grunted, turning and heading for the exit, Tera trailing behind him quietly.

"You just _love_ getting to shoot things down, don't you Jak?" she questioned simply once they were out of the head quarters, rolling her eyes, "Men and their guns, oi."

Jak chuckled, "You seem pretty fond of your own guns, Ter. Lets just get this mission over with so we can bring the seal piece back to Onin."

The girl nodded, "I drive, you shoot?"

"Sounds like a plan."

The three grabbed the first, larger zoomer that came into view, Ter flooring the gas as they sped off towards the first beacon on their comm. units. The cruiser wasn't too hard to spot, as it stood out fairly well amongst the red cruisers of the normal KG. The first easily fell to the sudden barrage of Vulcan Furry shots from Jak's morph gun, Tera steering them away before the other KG units could attack.

The other four fell just as easily, though the group had had to switch zoomers at one point when theirs began to smoke. Once they were done with the cruisers, Tera steered them back towards the bazaar, heading again to Onin's tent.

"We sure showed those KG's!" Daxter cheered from Jak's shoulder as they hopped from the zoomer, approaching the tent. Tera's ears perked at voices coming from inside, the girl motioning for the guys to be quiet as they entered the tent. Kor stood in front of Onin, the elderly man speaking vividly with the sage woman.

"Expecting that little boy to save us is folly! At his age, he's no match for the Metal Head leader…" the man trailed off, turning towards the exit. He jumped slightly, startled, when he spotted the three teens in the entrance, "Oh… Jak. We were just talking about Samos' plan."

"Onin says your voice sounds very familiar," Pecker piped up, Kor turning back towards the old soothsayer, "I'll bet you two golden oldies go _way_ back, huh?" a narrowed glance passed between the two older people, Pecker turning to address Jak and the others, "Onin needs you to prove yourself, Jak. You've shown your brass, and your brawn. Now you must use your brains as well. Frankly," the bird put his wings together, "I don't think you can do it; Tera maybe, but eh, I'm not the boss. Beat this test, and the third piece to the Seal will be revealed."

Tera didn't miss the look that passed over Kor's face, unnerving the blonde. She turned to mention it to Jak, but the male seemed to be out of it, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Tera frowned, shifting uncomfortably when she felt Onin's gaze drift to her.

"Onin says you have a great destiny ahead of you, young one," the girl jumped when Pecker addressed her, eyes snapping up to meet with the older woman's, "she says that you will face many hardships in your chosen life, but that you will pull through in the end."

"What does that me-" Tera froze when Jak seemed to come back to it, the make blinking and frowning.

The two seal pieces that they had gathered rose up in the air in front of them, a third appearing as the three sealed into one piece.

"Behold! The seal of Mar is now complete!" Jak caught the seal when it floated over to him, sending a grin Tera's way, "Onin says the three artifacts you're retrieved from the Mountain Temple… arrrrrk… are relics from an ancient Light Tower. Old songs tell how this light tower once shined down on the actual site of Mar's tomb! I sing one of these songs for you!" the monkaw took a deep breath, "From the mists of time, Mar's light would _shine_!"

The three underground operatives winced at the last note, Kor dropping his walking cane in surprise.

"Whoa there iron lungs," Jak cut him off, rolling his eyes, "Just tell us what we need to do."

Pecker huffed, planting his 'hands' on his hips, "Cretins with no taste, huh? Bah!" he glanced down at Onin when she began to 'speak' again, "You must take the three artifacts to Mar's gate. Only then will the Light Tower rise and reveal the tomb."

Tera noticed Kor leaving from the corner of her eyes, but didn't mention it as she followed Jak and Daxter out of the tent. Something was odd about that man; his presence made her feel uneasy…

"Ter, you alright?" the girl blinked at the question, flushing when she realized she'd stopped walking when they'd reached the zoomer.

"Yah, I'm fine," she brushed it off, hopping in and sitting silently while Jak drove them over to the Mountain Temple. There, they took the lift back down into the temple and approached the sealed door. Jak lifted the seal up, the artifact giving off a faint glow as it lifted from his hand and attacked itself to the centre of the door, the metal pulling back to reveal another passageway.

The three entered and crossed a set of pipes over to the next area (unfortunately having to use the jet board; how Jak still managed to maneuver it perfectly with her added weight Tera wasn't sure), continuing forwards. They reached an area cluttered with three large machines. The three shared a grin, Daxter getting the gear and Tera taking the shard while Jak ran the lens over to its rightful place.

Once all three were in place, the tower began to rise, the machines activating automatically. The three jumped when a sudden beam of light shot out and hit the lens, directed out into the city. Even from their place in the mountains the three could hear something crash, and, nodding to each other, they raced back out to the city gates, speeding off towards the new beacon on their comm. units.

It turned out to have been the statue of Baron Praxis that had crashed, the beam destroying it and revealing the tomb sealed underneath. They took the elevator down to the tomb's entrance, not surprised to see that Samos, Kor and the kid had already beaten them there.

"You did it, Jak!" Samos exclaimed in awe when he spotted them, "You actually found Mar's tomb!"

"Great!" Jak spat, approaching the kid and laying his hands on his shoulders, "Now what? We send this poor kid into a meat grinder?" Tera nodded in agreement, frowning as she stared at the huge door before them. Something wasn't right…

"This is the day I've long awaited…" Kor breathed, not seeming to notice the anxiousness of the others, "To hold the fabled Precursor Stone… in my hands!"

Samos approached the child, laying a hand on his shoulder once Jak had removed his, "You must be cautious, child. The tests of manhood are sure to be fraught with Peril, and Mar's heir must face them alone."

"It's okay, kid!" Daxter jumped down beside the child, grinning broadly, "It's just a deep, pitch-black, 'sure to be filled to the brim with painful death'…" Daxter didn't notice both Tera and Jak frantically trying to get him to stop, "old tomb… " he leaned closer to the kid, "I wouldn't go in there…"

"_Welcome, heir of Mar,"_the oracles voice suddenly boomed, starting the group, _"Finally, the chosen one stands before me. Enter, and prove yourself worthy to claim the ancient birthright."_

"Jak?" Tera nudged the male in the side, frowning at his dazed look, "You alright?"

The blonde didn't answer, laying a hand on the kids shoulder again as he slowly started to walk past him, staring at the opening door as he approached it.

"_No,"_ Jak was snapped from his daze by the oracles voice, the door stopping, _"This child is too young to face the tests."_ The door slowly began to close, sealing off the tomb yet again.

"What?! No!"

"Do something Jak!" the blonde growled, running towards the door.

"Jak…" Daxter started, rushing after his friend, "remember the 'sure to be filled to the brim with painful death' part?!" Jak didn't hear him, rolling under the door and pulling the ottsel in with him just before it slammed closed.

"Jak!" Tera rushed towards the door, pounding a fist against it, "Dammit! Jak!"

"Great tree limbs! He's gone to face the tests!" Samos exclaimed, Kor giving a 'hmph'.

"No, he's gone to his death."

"_Freeze!"_ came the sudden voice of a guard behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jak looked out at the tomb around them, the room filled with water except for a few platforms. He glanced around, frowning when he noticed that a certain blonde girl was missing, "Tera?"

"She didn't come with us, Jak!" Daxter panted, climbing up onto his friends shoulder again, "She got left behind with the others… lucky."

"Well," Jak pulled out his morph gun, loading the blaster mod, "Let's get this done with so we can get out of here."

"Sounds good to me!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jak growled, slamming his fist against the wall of the tomb as he watched the Baron's mech fly off, the Precursor Stone in its metal claws. They'd beaten the Tests only to have the stone stolen from them by that idiot of a Baron.

'If he hadn't have had that mech I could've killed him,' he growled mentally, unclenching his fists when he felt dark eco spark through him. Daxter jumped up onto his shoulder, patting him on the head.

"It's not your fault, Jak! How the hell'd he even know we were so close?!"

"I don't know Dax, but we'd better get out of here to," the blonde sighed, loading his gun again to take care of any remaining tomb watchers as they left the ancient building, heading back to the entrance. Jak frowned when there was no sign of Tera; she wouldn't have left, would she?

He picked up his comm., hitting the number for her unit, "Tera, you there? Where are you?"

Nothing but static came through the unit. Jak bristled, eyes narrowing. The Baron had said something about his friends not being any match for him…

His eyes flew open; the Baron had Tera as well as Samos and the kid. Dark woke up in the back of his mind, hissing and clawing, _'I'll rip them apart for touching here!'_ the demon snarled, dark eco flaring slightly under Jak's skin.

Jak grit his teeth, forcing the demon back. First, he had to find out where they were being held; then he could rip out the throats of any KG's that got in his way.

"C'mon, Dax," he grunted simply, snatching the nearest zoomer, "Maybe Torn can help."


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note:** Hey guys! I'm back with another update weeeee! Only three more chapters after this one omg! Owo That went so fasssssst. And its summer so I can prob update a bit more lawl. Anyways, to my lovely reviewers:

**Miracle Mar:** Ehehe, lets just say Jak's not gonna be a happy camper when he gets there. You will see what happened to Ter in this chapter, so chill :P Errol isn't involved in the kidnapping, but he is in quite a few parts of this chapter, lawl. Lol, thanks! Hope you liked this update!

**Yasu XIII: **There, I'm writing chapter 12! So chill! XD

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** Yay, thank you :3 and I know! I can't wait to start Book3! Oh, he's gonna save her, no worries about that XD Thanks for the review!

And now, on with the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Twelve: A Shift in Feelings**

Jak couldn't believe he had let the Baron get away with the Precursor stone. Not only that, but the royal idiot had apparently taken his friends as well. The male frowned, entering the Underground hideout silently, mulling over what had happened. He had failed Tera again, and that didn't sit well with him at all.

"How did the Baron know we were so close to making a move for the stone?" he muttered as he walked into the main meeting area, frown deepening when he didn't immediately see Torn.

"It's my fault," the commander's voice startled them, the two glancing at each other then to Torn. He seemed uncharacteristically worried, "The Baron threatened to kill Ashelin for spying. His own daughter! I couldn't risk that, even for the Underground…"

Jak felt a growl form in the back of his throat, approaching the commander silently. Daxter took the opportunity to 'explain' the situation, "Right! Very good thinking… except Praxis has the Precursor Stone now, so he can do whatever he wants!"

"There is still a way to get our friends back," Torn stood up, crossing his arms, "and maybe the Precursor Stone as well. I'll find Vin. Go to the fortress, and we'll call you."

"And why should we trust _you_?" Jak demanded, Dark growling in his mind. The demon wanted something to kill…

"Because you and I both know the Baron would have _killed _Ashelin!" Torn snapped, Jak looking away for a moment; it was true. He turned to walk out, Torns voice sounding behind him.

"It'll be a tough ride through the fortress, probably suicide…"

"You just get that door open," Jak cut him off, "I'll _be_ there."

He didn't wait for a reply this time and left the hideout, snatching the first zoomer he spotted and taking off towards the fortress. It was the last place he wanted to go, but if his friends were being held there then he'd get them out. 'You better be alright, Ter, or I'll kill 'em all…'

Once more he found himself in the place where they had been chased by a tank, but this time the back 'door' was open. Jak grabbed the ammo nearby before loading the Vulcan Fury and inching towards the first corner, ears perked at the sound of KG voices. When the one closest to him looked away, he snagged the opportunity and jumped out, catching the man off guard with a barrage of blue bullets.

The other guards gave yells, trying to shoot back. Dark was hissing and clawing in his mind, wanting out, wanting to kill the guards that had touched Tera… Jak gave in, the demon emerging with a crackle of dark eco, skin and hair paling, horns and claws growing, and eyes turning pitch black. The demon launched itself in the air, slamming down and performing a dark bomb that took out all of the remaining guards.

"Good work, buddy!" Daxter chirped when Jak turned back, the blond holding his head as the pain from the horns disappearing went away. Saying nothing, he jumped onto the pedestals the guards had been on and slammed the buttons on each one before heading into the next room. Slamming the final button, the force field gate went down and allowed them to continue onwards. Jak jumped over the trip lasers in the next room, using the guns themselves as stepping stones to get across to the area after it.

The renegade jumped on his jet board for the half-pipe ahead of them, jumping up and grinding across the next pipe as quickly as possible to avoid the lasers there. Once on the next side, he had to run like hell to avoid gun shots from above them, cursing the KG's the entire time. The next set of guards went down easily, and after another pipe Jak grinned. Almost there…

The Scatter gun was used on the spyroids that jumped up in front of him, Jak bolting through the prison door as it opened and closed behind him. The first thing Jak noticed was what sounded like someone kicking one of the doors. Then, just as Torn had said, all the cell doors began to open. Jak jumped slightly when Tera flew out of one, landing on her back and blinking at the ceiling in surprise.

"Ter!" Jak helped the girl up, "You alright?" he smirked when she nodded, "I take it, it was you I heard kicking a door?"

"Hey," she shrugged, "I was bored. I knew you'd show up eventually."

Daxter had rushed over to the cell holding Tess, leaning against the wall with an arrogant look, "Hey there sweetheart! The Metal Head masher has saved the day! Oh, and I let Jak tag along too."

"Oh, my little hero!" Tess grabbed the ottsel, squishing him in a tight hug. Jak and Tera approached the final cell, spotting Samos inside.

"Samos? Are you alright?" Jak questioned.

"What took you so long?!" the two teens jumped when _their_ Samos suddenly stuck his head in the doorway, marching past them "I added six rings to my trunk waiting for you to get me outta here!"

Tera and Jak exchanged shocked looks, looking back to Samos when he suddenly turned his attention to them again, "Great yakow horns! What happened to you two?!"

"Wait a minute!" Daxter slipped from Tess's hold, pointing to the old sage, "You're you! I mean the other you! I mean… you know what I mean!"

"Yes, it appears I have an older time twin," the younger Samos approached his older self, frowning, "Great grass grubs! I can't believe what a cranky old log I've become!"

"Two Samos the Sages?" Daxter screamed and ran behind Jak's legs, "Jak, they're multiplying!"

"We need to find the kid, pronto!" the older Samos exclaimed suddenly.

"What are you talking about, old growth? The kid already opened the tomb. Our top priority should be to disrupt the Baron's forces!"

"Oh, look who thinks they've sprouted. If you were half as wise as I am, you'd know that the proper course of action is to find the kid!"

"Listen, you old dried up leaf, I run this outfit, and I say we go after the Baron's forces!"

Daxter jumped between the two sages, "Do we have to separate you two?"

"Vin's activating the Warp Gate," Jak interrupted them "We need to get out of here. Now." The group nodded, jumping through the gate one by one, Daxter being the last to go through.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Can't we ever get a break?" Daxter grumbled from his place on Jaks shoulder, picking bits of metal from his fur, "It's always one thing after another!"

The three had just finished taking down a set of blast bots that had been sent after the hideout; not a fun task. Luckily, by going right underneath them they were unable to target properly and thus were easier to take care of. However, just when they'd thought they could take a break Keira had contacted them regarding the class 2 race at the stadium, meaning they had to head over there now.

Heading in, it was surprising to see Keira wasn't in the garage, but the worst surprise was when Errol suddenly walked out from behind a stack of crates, approaching the three renegades.

"Well, if it's the dark eco _freak_ and his little sidekicks," he sneered.

"Where's Keira?" Jak asked simply, holding his temper.

"Don't worry, I'm keeping a close eye on her," Errol began to circle around the three, "You're the talk of the town, Jak! You give the people hope," he drew close to them again, "how _pathetic_. I would have enjoyed killing you in prison, but now, it'll be so much more fun to take you on the track, in front of the entire city! I can hear the roar of the crowd now… as everyone sees their hope _die_…"

"It's good to have you back, Daddy," Keira's voice came from the entrance to the garage, drawing the attention of the others. She walked in with the old Samos beside her.

"Yes, it's nice to be free again…" the sage commented, eyes still on his daughter.

"You know," Errol leaned closer to Jak, voice lowering, "Keira _loves_ a winner. Someday she'll be _my_ mechanic."

"Stay away from her," Jak growled quietly, clenching his fists as Errol gave a laugh and walked off.

"Ah," Keira gave a sigh, eyes following the red headed commander, "Errol's the _best_ racer I've ever seen."

"He's not what you think," Jak replied simply. Keira frowned, eyes narrowing at the male.

"And _you're_ a good judge of character? HAH!" she sneered, "Look at you! People say you get angry and… change. Besides, the Jak _I_ knew wouldn't be working for a guy like Krew!"

Tera stared at her sister, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. Keira had practically just called him a _monster_! How could she do that if she loved Jak? 'Maybe she's changed more then I thought…' the blonde mused, eyes going to Jak.

He was frowning now to, eyes narrowed, "I need Krew's connections to fight the Baron! Without my… you know what? Do it your way, and I'll do it mine. Just don't come crying to _me_ when walls fall down!" the male turned, storming out of the garage, leaving Tera and Daxter staring after him in surprise.

"Ah, Jak, buddy?" Daxter called after him, "haha… where you going there pal? Jak? Jak?!"

"_Attention all drivers, the Class Two races will begin soon."_ A metallic voice rang through the garage.

"Now what are we gonna do?!" Daxter exclaimed, fidgeting.

Keira turned to the ottsel, "You'll have to drive for the team, Daxter! We need this win to qualify for the final championship!"

"How hard can it be? Just hold on tight and point the thingy where I want it to go, right? And then there's that other thingy that make's it go fast. Fast is good! I can do this! I'm ready to race!"

"Then lets go Dax, the race is gonna start soon!" Tera waited till the ottsel had hopped onto her shoulder before heading for the arena, taking her friend down to the racers area before heading to grab a seat for herself. Her sister's behavior towards Jak was still bothering her… The race started, and Teras attention was drawn to cheering for the little ottsel as he sped alongside all the other racers. Tess found her at one point and the two cheered as loudly as they could, yelling happily when Daxter won the race.

They hurried back to the garage just as Daxter stumbled in carrying his trophy. He placed it on the counter, then hopped up beside it, grinning.

"Now there's a handsome winner!" Daxter grinned at his reflection in the cup.

"You did it Daxter! You helped us qualify for the big race!" Keira praised the ottsel.

"Good work Dax," Tera added, grinning.

"Did you ever doubt? I back seat drive for Jak all the time!" he turned to Tess, motioning to his cheek, "Hey! When do I get the winners big kiss?"

Tess giggled, "Maybe later… if you're a good boy!" she rubbed the ottsels head. Daxter grinned, then looked behind Tess, perking up.

"Hey there," he greeted as Jak approached, "we, ah, showed those Class two losers a thing or two, huh?" the ottsel hopped down to the ground in front of his friend.

"I saw," Jak grinned back, "You drifted a little high in the turns a few times, but," he bent down, knocking his fist against the ottsels, "you hung in there. I'm proud of you Dax."

The ottsel perked, "Really?"

"Yeah, you did great."

"No!" Daxter smirked, jumping on the males shoulder, "_We_ did great. Right, partner?"

Jak gave the ottsel another grin, then glanced at Keira. She turned, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him. Jak frowned, turning and heading for the exit, Daxter blinking back at Tera.

"You coming, Ter?" the blonde nodded to him.

"I'll be there in a second." She replied, waiting till the guys and Tess had left before approaching Keira, "Keira?"

"Yah?" the girl turned, freezing when pain suddenly formed on her cheek. Keira brought a hand up to the tender flesh, staring at the frowning blonde girl in shock. Tera had slapped her?

"How could you do that to him, Keira?" Tera growled quietly, fists clenched, "I thought you loved Jak? How could you call him a monster like that?" the girl turned, "I guess you've changed a lot more then I thought." She didn't wait for a reply, heading out of the race garage to find the guys. She'd said what she'd wanted to say, and thus had no reason to stick around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After about an hour spent in the sewers with some of Krew's less then friendly workers, going to the oracle again and finding a peace maker addition at the port, the three renegades finally headed back to the Hip Hog. Jak wasn't in the best mood, and not just because of the incident with Keira. While down in the sewers, Krew's men had literally detonated the statue of Mar in order to get at a gem named the Heart of Mar. It just didn't sit well with the hero.

Once in the bar, Tera flopped into a seat while Jak took the one next to her, Daxter sprawling out on the bar itself to flirt with Tess. The blonde girl was more then happy to indulge, stroking the ottsels back fondly.

"Hey!" the group's heads snapped up when Krew suddenly appeared above them, frowning at Tess, "Back to work toots!"

"She's working beach ball! Quit your yappin'!" Daxter replied, turning back to Tess again.

"Watch it!" Krew flew in close to Daxter, "Or you'll be yet another trophy hung on these walls!" Daxter fainted while the fat man floated over to the wall of trophies, laughing manically.

"Jak, I want you to throw the championship race. Just let Errol win…"

"You bet against us?!" Jak growled, fists clenching.

"Jak, Jak," Krew had floated back down to the group, giving a 'smile', "It's just business. You've become a symbol to those townies. They'll bet everything on a glimmer of hope. What better time to make money? Waddaya say my boy?"

"I say you're going to lose a lot of money," Jak smirked, turning away from the fat man, "Because I'm going to race, and I intend to _win_."

"Aggggh! You little…" Krew flew up to the ceiling, breathing heavily and pointing towards the male, "You're becoming more trouble then you're worth!" he flew back down, getting right in Jaks face, "I wouldn't get too comfy if I was you!" his eyes went to Daxter, then Tera, "_Everyone's_ expendable!"

"In a hurry to _die_, boy?" a horribly familiar voice growled, Errol striding forwards when Krew flew back up to the ceiling, "Well, we don't have to wait for the big race! We can do this right now! One on one, through the city, using accelerator rings. Hit every ring from start to finish. Miss even one ring and its _over_." He turned away briefly, "Keira already thinks you're a loser," he turned again, his fist in Jaks face, "And I'll prove it now, once and for all!"

Jak growled, smacking his hand away, "You're on."

"Jak!" Tera jumped up when Errol left, staring at the male, "You don't have to do this! Let your ego go for once and back down!"

"He's a menace, Ter," Jak glanced at the girl, Daxter jumping on his shoulder, "Maybe by bruising _his_ ego I can keep him away from my friends."

"That makes no sense, Jak!" Tera frowned, "I understand you want to keep him away from Keira, but-"

"I'm not doing this because of _Keira_," Jak cut her off, giving her a long look that she couldn't decipher, "I'll see you at the Stadium steps; that's where the finish line is."

"Jak!" the male had already started walking, heading out the door. Tera ran after him, getting outside just in time to see the two race off on their zoomers. She gave a frustrated sigh, snatching a zoomer for herself and speeding off towards the stadium. Getting there, she sat down on the stadium steps and waited, resting her elbows on her knees. It was dark by the time the two finally appeared, Jak obviously in the lead. Tera got up and dashed over, stopping once she was in hearing range.

"Aggghh! Don't get too cocky, outlaw!" Errol barked, "Next time we race for keeps! And your head will be my trophy!" the KG commander snapped his helmet down over his face, taking off. Jak smirked; crossing his arms and watching him fly off.

"Ahhh, blow it out your ear!" Daxter shouted after him, "You were bottle-fed, weren't you?"

"Good work, guys," Jak lowered the zoomer to ground level at Tera's voice, grinning.

"Told you I'd win. Now come on," he motioned to the zoomer, "No more calls for the night; we actually get to sleep."

"Oh thank god," Tera laughed, "As much as I hate your driving… I'm too tired to really care right now," that said, the blonde girl climbed on behind him, holding on tight as he sped off towards their apartment. Though she was glad Jak had beaten Errol, she got the feeling that this wasn't the last time they'd be confronted by the KG commander…


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Note:** And yet another chapter underway peoples! THIS IS THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!! NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST ONE OF BOOK TWO WEEEEE! Shwee! To my lovely reviewers:

**Miracle Mar:** Lmao, same here. I would not want to be around when he's that pissed off XD. I'm glad you liked it, sorry for the late update! (yes don't we all lol) Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** Thanks! Yes, that was my favorite part of the chapter as well :3 Thanks for the review!

**Ukee Chick:** Lol, glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review!

**Yasu XIII:** Lol, I'm really glad you're liking it! Thanks for the comment and the review!

And now on with the chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Thirteen: Coming to a Close**

It was oddly chilly, Tera decided.

The blonde shivered slightly as awareness came back to her, sleep slowly drifting away. Pale eyes slitted open, wincing at the speck of sunlight that shone through the window. Groping around, Tera frowned and sat up, yawning and stretching before glancing behind her. Ah, of course, _that_ was why she was so cold. Jak was curled up at the very edge of the bed, sound asleep and completely wrapped in the blankets.

"Blanket hogger," Tera muttered under her breath, yawning again. She reached over and grabbed the blanket, tugging at it. Jak gave an indistinguishable groan and held it tighter, making the girl growl quietly. The blonde took hold of the blanket, this time pulling on it a lot harder. She _almost_ had it when Jak rolled, tugging both the blanket and Tera back over to his side.

Tera gave an irritated sigh and had resigned herself to not getting any blankets when Jak's comm. went off in the main room, making her jump. The sound woke Jak up, the male yawning and pushing himself from the bed, leaving Tera to snatch the blankets back. Still half asleep, Jak ignored Daxter's mumbling from his bed and picked up the comm., hitting the button, "Yah?"

"It's about time you picked up!" Jak winced at the volume of Samos' voice, "I need you three to go into Dead Town and get something from my old hut. I left something extremely important there, and we need it. So get moving!"

"Fine, Samos," Jak hit the off button on the comm., sighing and heading back towards the bedroom. At least they'd managed to get a decent sleep for once...

Going back into the room, Jak stopped, one eyebrow rising in amusement. Tera had literally_ buried_ herself under the blankets, hiding herself completely. The male shook his head, chuckling softly, "Come on, Tera. We have a mission from Samos."

"Do I have to?" the girl whined from under the covers, voice muffled.

"Yes, Ter," Jak pulled the covers off, grinning at the girl, "We have to get something from his old hut."

"Oh fine," Tera sighed, pushing herself from the bed and fixing up her clothes. They both pulled on the other parts of their outfits before heading out, Jak balancing a sleepy Daxter on his shoulder as they grabbed a zoomer and sped off towards Dead Town. They reached it fairly quickly, heading outside the city wall and into the area that was once Sandover Village. It still gave Tera chills.

They hopped over to where a mech. suit waited for them, the two blondes sharing a look. Tera sighed, rolling her eyes, "You smash things in the mech., I'll shoot any metal heads in the way."

"Sounds good," Jak smirked, hopping into the mech. along with Daxter, powering it up. He approached the first wall, Tera shooting down the two grunts that waited when the wall had been smashed in. They repeated this process several times, though occasionally Jak had to push a stone block into place so they could get to the next level. After knocking down a pillar that bridged the gap between the stone and Samos' old hut, Jak hopped out of the suit, the three heading into the old building that they had known so well.

"I spent many a day cleaning up this place for old greenie!" Daxter piped, jumping down from Jak's shoulder to wander around a bit.

"Brings back memories," Tera whispered, eyes going around the hut. It was sad to see the place she'd grown up in in such bad condition.

Jak was silent, his eyes going up to something near the roof that was giving off a soft glow. The object floated down from the roof, Jak catching it when it was in arms reach.

"Good work, you three!" Samos' voice popped up again, Jaks comm. jumping out of his pack to float in front of them, "Before we came through the rift long ago, I was nurturing that Life Seed from the Great Tree. It seems the Metal Heads are attracted to its power. Take the seed to Onin now. She will prepare it for Samos."

Daxter frowned, "You mean… you?"

"No, the _other_ me, Daxter!" Samos snapped, "My younger self needs the seeds power to become… sagely."

"So… let me get this straight," Daxter paused, "It's fair to say that by bringing your younger self the life seed now, _we_ helped you become the sage you are today? _We_ helped you get your powers in the first place? And you never _thanked_ us?!"

"_Thank_ you, Daxter… now go do it!"

"FINE! Sheesh!" the ottsel jumped back onto Jak's shoulder once more, "Let's get this over with!"

"Sounds good," Jak agreed, tucking the seed into his pack and heading for the exit. Tera took one last glance around the hut before following, the three anxious to get out of the dead area.

They first took the seed to Onin in order to get it 'prepared' for Samos, then headed out to Haven forest to find the underground leader. It wasn't too hard; he was meditating in front of the Great Tree, and looked up when they approached.

"Samos told me to… I mean," Jak stumbled, "you told me to… or… well… I mean your older version… ah… whatever. We heard you needed the Life Seed," he tossed it to the sage.

"Yes," the young Samos' voice was calm, "Its power will help me speak to the plants."

"_There he is!"_ guards voices from behind them startled the group, the renegades whirling to spot KG air trains approaching.

"_Roger. We're en route!"_

"_I see 'em!"_

"Jak, Tera, protect me from these guards!" Samos exclaimed, "I must ask the plants vital questions about our future!"

"On it," the two blonds took up positions on either side of the sage, Samos rising into the air as he meditated with the seed. They shot down the guards as they appeared from either side, quickly shooting down the Hover Guards as soon as they flew up over the edge of the area.

Surprisingly, they went down fairly quickly, soon falling back and flying away. Jak and Tera shared a smug look before turning back to the sage, Samos looking horrified at what he had seen.

"The Life Seed gave me a terrible vision!" he started, "The Baron is planning to _destroy_ the Precursor Stone! He aims to… crack it open somehow. If he does this, the energy released will be beyond comprehension! It will destroy the world and more… ending all life! The plants are crying out for protection! You must stop the Baron, Jak! Stop him, however you can!"

"That Baron is a lunatic," Tera mumbled as they left the forest, "He has no idea what he's doing…"

"Makes you wonder how he got on the throne," Daxter mused.

"Yah…" Jak paused, looking around once they reached the city again, "Makes you wonder…"

A beep came from his comm., alerting him to a new message. "It's from Vin," was all he said, jumping to snatch a zoomer and taking off once they had all gotten in.

As usual, the nervous man was working away at his control panels when the three entered, not noticing them at first.

"Hey there, sack a'nerves!" Daxter greeted, "How's the bzzzzzt stuff going?"

"I've got good news and bad news," Vin activated the platform he was on, floating up to a screen, "The good news is Kor tells me that we've got enough power online to keep the shield walls up. So for now, the city's safe," he paused, "But I don't know how long the system can hold…"

"And the bad news?" Jak asked, planting a hand on his hip.

Vin floated back down, "We've detected a cluster of Metal Head eggs growing up at the Strip Mine site. Now, you've got to go back there and find a way to destroy those eggs before they turn into a whole new army of creatures!"

"I noticed the crane was carrying a large metal container," Jak started, "If we could jump onto the container, we could drop the crate from above."

"High? Jump? Drop?" Daxter gulped, "Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"Sounds like you're going to be needing the jet board for that," Tera pulled her comm. from her belt when it beeped, "And we've got a call from Brutter, so I'd may as well had take care of that while you guys are at the Strip Mine."

Jak frowned, "You sure you'll be ok? It's probably regarding lurkers-"

"I'll be fine, Jak," Tera managed a weak grin, "I've got to get over my fear sometime."

Jak nodded, "Alright, but if you need any help-"

"I'll call you, Jak, chill," Tera rolled her eyes, heading out of the station. Jak watched until she was gone before jumping into the warp gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'I really hate this city', Tera grumbled mentally as she swerved the zoomer around a corner, stopping to let the fourth lurker off. She sped off, hiding behind some plants in the farm section and waiting until the alarms had stopped before heading towards the next lurker carrier. It was a fairly simple mission; rescue six lurkers from KG carrier vehicles and bring them to drop off locations. Not hard at all.

"_Tera,"_ the girl jumped when Jak's voice came through her comm., _"We're heading out to the Drill Platform to take care of some business, but Keira wants us at the Stadium in Half an Hour."_

"I'll just meet you guys at the stadium; I'm almost done this mission."

"_Alright, be careful."_

Tera tucked the comm. back into her pack, speeding off towards the final lurker hold. She took down the final carrier and dropped off the last Lurker, checking the time. She still had twenty minutes, but there was no point in waiting to head to the Stadium.

Despite not being on the best terms with Keira, Tera headed into the mechanics garage when she reached it, not wanting to stand outside by herself.

"Keira?" she called, frowning when she didn't see the mechanic, "You here?"

"Well well, if it isn't Jak's little friend," an all too familiar voice hissed from behind her. Tera froze, whirling around.

"Errol…" she stepped back, keeping her eyes on the grinning KG, "Where's Keira?"

"Oh, she's around here somewhere," the commander stepped closer, "where's Jak?"

"Like I'd tell you," the girl snapped, stepping back again. Errol gave a sinister smirk.

"Oh well, I'll see him on the track soon enough. And even if he does manage to survive the race," he moved to leave, "he won't be getting out of the Stadium alive…"

"I'll show you guys what I've been working on if you promise not to laugh," Keira's voice made the girls ears prick, turning to see her sister, Samos, Jak and Daxter walk into the room just after Errol had left.

"Oooo, I love surprises!" Daxter exclaimed, "And I love to laugh! Show me show me!"

"Ter, there you are," Jak frowned when the blonde approached, "Where've you been?"

"Oh… just waiting here…" her gaze went to the craft revealed when the green curtains were pulled back.

"I've been building a replica of our crashed Rift Ride machine from old artifacts."

"That's my girl," Samos grinned.

"But I'm still missing two pieces."

"Figures…"

"Vin says I need an artifact called the 'Time Map' and an old energy gem history books call the 'Heart of Mar'. And I've looked in every book on Precursor history I can find, but the Rift Ring seems to have vanished…"

"I've seen the Heart of Mar," Jak looked to Keira, "Krew has it. We'll get those two artifacts, Keira."

"_Attention all drivers, the Class One Championship race is about to begin."_ Came the metallic voice over the speakers, Jak sighing and looking to the group.

"Well, here goes. The race of my life."

"Jak…" Keira stopped him, "I just wanted you to know… well, you're the best racer I've ever seen."

'Lame attempt at getting back on his good side much,' Tera muttered mentally.

"Hey!" Daxter piped, "What about me?! I helped get us here!"

"Do you wanna drive?"

"Against that crazy loon Errol?" Daxter shuddered, "No way! You got the handlebars, brother. And you better keep us alive or I'll never speak to you again! Obviously."

"Leave 'em in the dust, Jak!" Keira cheered.

The male nodded, turning to head out of the garage. Tera only remember Errol's words once her friend had left, biting her lip worriedly as they headed down to the stands. Jak would be fine… he was always fine… They sat in really close up seats, the girl looking down on the race line up, 'Please be ok Jak…'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jak jumped onto the free zoomer amongst the racers, preparing for the starting flag. Errol zoomed up beside him, drawing the renegade's attention.

"I want more then just to win, eco freak," he sneered, "I want _you_."

"Greetings, racers!" Jaks attention was drawn by the Baron's voice, Praxis standing on a floating platform in front of them with a couple of guards, "Today your nerve and skill will be tested for our amusement. If any of you by some small chance beat our grand champion Errol, then you will be rewarded a month's supply of eco!" he muttered a bit under his breath, "And a short tour of my palace to see how the other half live," he turned back to the racers, "Good luck, and die bravely!"

Jak grit his teeth, facing forwards.

The Baron raised his arms, "Ready? Get set! GO!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The end of the race brought on a wave of cheering as Jak crossed the finish line first, sufficiently stealing the title from Errol. He came to a stop just beyond the finish line, sending a grin and wink up to where he knew his friends sat.

"Thank you, thank you very much," Daxter grinned, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd, "I love my public!"

Jak snatched his prize, the palace security pass, out of the air when it appeared, keeping his back to Praxis when the Baron floated down.

"Ah, a brave man of the people. And who is this worthy opponent," the Baron smirked, "In my world; good men are either bought or broken. So which is it going to be?"

Jak grinned then, turning around to face the man, "Surprise."

"What?!"

"Just a little closer," the renegade growled, motioning, "we need to talk."

"Fool!" the Baron spat, "Don't you get it? It's over, Jak! All the heroes died long ago! Only survival remands… by whatever means! This city is mine!" he motioned to the crowds, "These lives are mine! This war is mine! And in war… people _die_!" he snapped to the two KG's with him, "Kill him!"

Jak took a step back as the guards pinned their guns on him, but one suddenly looked behind him, "Look out!"

Errol came speeding from around the track, snarling, "I win, Jak!"

Jak jumped out of the way of the bike, the Baron floating away as Errol smashed into the eco supply, causing an explosion. All that was left of the commander was his racing mask.

The Baron recovered quickly, spotting Jak making a run for it, "After them!"

Jak ran as fast as he could, dodging and punching through guards as he dashed out of the Stadium. He didn't even bother with his gun, just jumping and grabbing the first zoomer he could and high tailing it out of the area.

"Jak!" Daxter screeched at one point, clinging to his friends shoulder, "What about Ter and the others?!?"

Jak slammed on the breaks just as they reached the palace, eyes going wide. Shit… what if they'd been caught?! Cursing at the sound of guards coming, he hopped off the zoomer and ran into the palace entrance, pulling out his comm. once it was safe. He hit the button, lifting it to his lips, "Ter, are you ok? I'm at the palace…"

"_We're fine, chill Jak, we stayed in the garage while the alarm was going off. They didn't bother looking in here for you."_

Jak gave a sigh of relief at her answer, "Alright, stay there and I'll call you once I'm done here." He hooked it back onto his belt, taking the elevator up to the main palace area. Walking in, he kept one ear pricked for any sign of guards as he headed into the throne room, looking around.

Ashelin slid out from behind a pillar, gun aimed at Jak, "I shouldn't have trusted you!"

"Back where we started, huh?"

"Don't play with me!" Ashelin snapped, moving closer, "All along you've been trying to undermine our war with the Metal Heads! Whose side are you on?"

"Listen Ashelin," Jak tried to reason with her, "your father's planning something terrible, and if-"

"My father can destroy the Metal Head armies once and for all!" Ashelin snarled, her gun now pressed to Jaks chin.

"If he cracks open the Precursor Stone, the explosion will kill all of us!" Jak slapped the gun away, "Don't you get it?!"

Ashelin backed up, eyes wide, her head shaking in denial.

"That's right!" Daxter smirked, "Not so hard, huh? Even I can figure this one out!"

Ashelin's gun snapped back to Jak when he moved to continue forwards, "Don't you move!" she grabbed her comm. unit, "Vin, come in."

"_What? What? "I've got my hands full here, you know!"_

"You know all about the Precursor Stone myth, right?"

"_Sure, I did my Econecic Energy Doctorate on Precurian Theoretical Physics. Why?"_

"What would happen if the Precursor Stone were to be… say… violently cracked open?"

_Great! As if I didn't have enough to keep me awake at night, you need one more thing to dread thank you very much! If someone actually had the Stone, according to my calculations… a runaway eco surge from cracking it open would… theoretically… destroy __**everything**__!"_

Ashelin's face dropped, "_Everything_?!"

"_All things! Every single thing! Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go throw up. Bye-bye!"_

Jak turned to the woman when she put her gun away, going over what had just been revealed, "Trust me, Ashelin. We have to stop him."

"I'll try to find out more," the red head was once again in control of herself, "but right now, my father is meeting Krew at a secret Weapons Factory near the Dig. Here," she pressed another security pass into Jak's hand, "That's my top level security pass. It'll get you into the factory, but it won't get you back out. We never had this conversation."

Jak looked down at the pass as Ashelin left, shoving it into his pack. He pulled out his comm., hitting Teras signal again, "Ter, meet me and Daxter at the Port as soon as you can."

"_What? Why?"_

"I'll explain when I get there," he hung up without another word, waiting for Daxter to get on his shoulder before heading through the passage Ashelin had opened up. Time to get out of the palace…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Finally, we made it," Tera sighed in relief when the wave of robots finally ceased, the two able to put their guns away for the first time since they'd entered the Weapons Factory. After taking the air train to the factory, they'd had to fight their way through several floors of KG's and robots; not fun.

"This better be worth it," Daxter muttered as they entered the elevator, waiting as it took them to the roof. Exiting, it wasn't hard to spot Krew floating up near the tower.

Krew spotted them, floating down so he was right in front of Jak, "I knew you were special when I first met you Jak, and I commend you for making it this far. We've come a long way, eh?"

"Yeah, I'm getting real teary-eyed," Jak dead panned, walking forwards. Krew floated back up by the tower again.

"I love weapons. I love how they look… how they feel… even how they smell…"

Jak and Tera shared a look, the male shaking his head, "I think you need serious help."

"My favorite was the impossibly powerful weapon Mar built to blast open the Metal Head nest," Krew gave a sinister laugh, "Poor fool died before he could use it, ah well. But I have a new favorite. The Piercer Bomb I've just completed. My masterpiece is powerful enough to crack open the Precursor Stone, and release the untold energy inside! As soon as the Baron shows up with the Stone, we'll hide it in the last shipment of eco and deliver it to the Metal Head nest," Krew floated down near them again, "A surprise dessert, eh? Heh. Just take this gun upgrade and forget what you saw here."

Jak loaded the mod onto his morph gun, but looked back to the fat man, "Not this time, Krew. I'm through being your hired gun."

Krew floated back suddenly, "Then its war, isn't it?!"

"Look out!" Jak was yanked back by his scarf, barely missing being attacked by what seemed to be a mini, green version of Krew. There were tons of them, Jak whipping out his scatter gun in order to take care of them. Tera aided with her blaster mods where she could, the real Krew appearing again once all the clones had been taken care of.

They had to avoid machine gun fire from him, Jak using his peace maker on him. They had to repeat the process twice, finally managing to damage Krew enough that his chair could no longer keep him afloat.

Practically sobbing, Krew reached towards the Heart of Mar where it was sitting on the ground, Daxter picking it up.

"Is it to late to give me notice?" Jak smirked.

"Yah! We quit!"

"The city is already dead! I've sold you all out!" Krew gave a weak laugh, ending in a cough.

"Jak, I think we should be getting out of here!" Tera exclaimed, motioning wildly to the now activated bomb.

The whirr of a zoomer suddenly sounded, a KG vehicle piloted by a red head appearing over the edge of the platform, "Ashelin?"

"We're outta here!" the red head motioned for them to get in. Wasting no time, Jak grabbed Tera and jumped into the vehicle, Ashelin gunning it away from the factory and back towards the city.

A massive explosion sounded behind them, the whole weapons factory going up in flames as they arrived back at the city. Krew was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors Note:** OMG YOU GUYS LAST CHAPTER OF BOOK2 SQUEEE! X3. I'm really looking forward to writing Book3, and then possibly a sequel after that… _cough_. But anyways! To my lovely reviewers!

**Miracle Mar:** lawlz X3 It was a good idea, lol. Did I type that mistake somewhere? Owo oops. And yes! Almost book3! Thanks for the review!

**xoxReneeOrionxox:** Lol, I'm glad you liked it! Yah, me to, he really creeped me out D: Shwee for book3! Thanks for the review!

**Ukee Chick:** Why thank yah :P Lmao, I know, me either! Thanks for the review!

Anyways, yay last chapter! And If you guys want I'll post a note on this one when Book3 is posted as an alert. No, on with the final chapter!

* * *

**Through Another's Eyes: Book Two**

**Chapter Fourteen: End of a War**

The flaming remains of the gun factory could easily be seen from the city, many people stopping and pointing, talking in whispers. The KG cruiser came down in the port, Ashelin turning to the three renegades as they hopped out, Jak still carrying Tera.

"You guys find my father, I'll take the Heart of Mar to Keira for you," the red head looked away for a moment, "I'm sorry it's come to this." She hit a few buttons, speeding off in the direction of the Stadium.

"Uh, Jak?" Tera poked the male in the chest, then crossed her arms, "You can put me down now, you know."

"Oh, right, sorry," Jak did as she'd said, an almost invisible tint rising in his cheeks. Tera didn't notice, to busy thinking about what to do next.

"We should probably head over to the Hip Hog," she reasoned, glancing towards the bar across the port, "If Sig's there, he'll want to know that his boss is dead."

"Good idea," Jak turned, starting off towards the bar with Tera on his heals. Neither was in much of a mood to talk; Krew's words still rung heavily through their minds. Daxter, for once, was also quiet, the ottsel not even looking at women as they passed them. The fat mans words had gotten to _all_ of them.

"Hey guys," Tess greeted the three when they entered the bar, standing beside the Metal Head Mash Game the bar sported, "Whatever Krew put in that machine, he looked _really_ nervous."

"Whatever it is, Krew won't be needing it anymore," Daxter commented, turning to Tess, "He's, shall we saw, not all together these days. Step aside, you two! Let the game player do his stuff!"

Tess bent down beside the ottsel, grinning at him, "You're such an_ animal_."

Daxter smirked, hopping onto the machine and grabbing the hammer to start the game. The three blonds watched him go to work, beating the game pretty easily. He was fast, so it wasn't a problem for him.

"Ta-daa!" Daxter hopped down from the machine, raising his arms in victory. He jumped when a floating, Precursor object suddenly jumped from one of the holes, "The Time Map!" he smirked, looking to Tess again, "You know, sugar plum, if any _real_ Metal Heads came into town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game!"

Tess had stopped listening at one point, staring at something behind him in terror, "Daxter…"

"They'd be all 'Don't hurt me please!' and I'd be all 'Too late, Metal Monkeys! You die screaming!' Hee hee, know what I'm saying?"

Jak loaded his blaster, "Um…"

Daxter turned around, eyes going wide, "Jak, I think these trophies are still walking!"

The two Grunts fell to a couple of shots from Jak's gun, the male having pushed the two girls behind him.

"Me… me… Metal Heads! Metal Heads!" Daxter screeched, "Where's Sig when you need him?!"

"Sig?" Tess echoed, "I think Krew sent him on one last mission. Something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open a secret door in the Underport…"

"Of course!" Jak breathed, already headed for the door, "Come on guys, we need to get to the Underport right now!"

"I'll take the Time Map to Keira," Tess offered, bending to pick up the artifact.

"I'll go with Tess," Jak looked back at Tera in surprise, frowning.

"But-"

"Look at it this way, Jak; in order to get through the Underport you're likely going to have to use the Titan Suit, which only fits one person. Also, there are Metal Heads in the city now; I don't want to leave my friend unprotected." Tera's stubborn gaze met Jaks, "I'll meet you at the Stadium once you find Sig, alright?"

"Fine…" Jak paused once more before leaving, "but you'd better be careful."

"We will be, Jak, now go find Sig!" Tera couldn't help but shake her head at her friend once he'd left, "That boy is to paranoid…"

"He's just worried about you, Tera, its sweet," Tess giggled, not missing the flush that formed on her friend's cheeks, "C'mon, we'd better get the Time Map to Keira."

"Right." Tera drew her guns, going to the door and peaking out before exiting onto the streets. They grabbed a zoomer as soon as they could, driving over the Metal Heads to the Stadium where Keira waited beside the Rift Rider.

"Great, you found it!" the mechanic exclaimed, taking the Time Map and going to work on the Rider, "That was the only piece I was missing!"

"I'm going to head back to the bar," Tess pulled Tera into a quick hug, "Good luck with everything!"

"Thanks, Tess," Tera smiled weakly as the other girl drove off. Keira finished installing the Time Map and approached her sister.

"You love him, don't you?" Tera stiffened at the question, looking back at the older girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," Keira continued calmly, leaning against the Rift Rider, "It's easy to tell, for me at least. I know how to read you," her lips twitched, "You _are_ my little sister, after all."

Tera sighed, ears lowering as a flush spread over her cheeks, "Well…" she gave in, sitting beside her sister, "How long have you known for?"

"Since Sandover," the teal haired girl grinned, "but don't worry, I haven't said anything to Jak."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Not really, because…" Keira fidgeted slightly, "I'm sure you've noticed that we've drifted… plus I know you. I know you wouldn't do anything to break us up on purpose, so why should I worry…"

"Excellent work, Keira!" both girls jumped at the sound of their father's voice, turning to see Samos and his younger self approaching, "The Rift looks perfect!"

The engine of a zoomer suddenly sounded from around the corner, Jak and Daxter appearing seconds later and screeching to a stop. The blonde looked stressed, mumbling to Tera when he approached, "Sig's dead."

The girl's eyes went wide, "No…"

"The Rift Rider's finished," Keira tried to steer the topic in another direction, "but if my fathers right, and the Ring is somewhere in the Metal Head nest, how are we going to get the Rift Rider there to use it?"

"Loooook!" Brutter appeared from behind the Rider, pointing into the sky, "Brutter just knew friends would need help if Metal Headers attack!"

"Daxter grinned, "Brutter, you're the man!"

"Lurker balloons are finest lifters in the world, but they is easy target!"

"Right," Jak pulled himself from his thoughts, "You guys get the Rift Rider to the nest, I'll stay and defend your take-off and get away."

"Once again, being your friend sucks!" Daxter whined, "I wanna go on the balloon!"

"I'm staying with you guys to, Dax."

"No," Teras gaze snapped to Jaks, "You're going with them, Ter."

"What?" the girl's eyes narrowed, "Why? I want to help fight-"

"I don't want you getting hurt," Jak snapped, "You're going on the balloon; I'm not letting you fight the Metal Head leader."

"But-"

"You keep Stadium sage while we prep balloon for lift away!" Brutter interrupted, then gasped, "Uh-oh! Here they come! Metal Headers!"

Keira and Brutter ran ahead to the balloon, the two Samos' using their powers to lift the Rift Rider and slowly move it over to the lift. Daxter jumped back onto Jak's shoulder, he and Tera drawing their guns and following after to take care of any Metal Heads. The first wave to appear was Stingers from within the grassy areas, Jak's Scatter gun easily taking them down. Grunts and hoppers soon joined in, the two managing to keep them under control with their Blaster and Vulcan mods.

Once they'd reached the balloon, the sages went about position the rider on the lift so that there would be room for everyone. Once it was ready, Jak took a brief second to grab Tera and force her onto the lift, the girl struggling against his hold.

"Up! Up! And away!"

"Jak!" Tera frowned down at the male on the ground, kneeling on the lift. He'd managed to get her on afterall…

"Must be nice floating away while we _die_ down here!" Daxter exclaimed, watching the balloon.

"We'll meet near the nest!" Keira called back, "See you soon, Jak! Be careful!"

"Yeah, _Jak_, be careful!" Daxter mimicked, earning a frown from Jak before the blondes eyes were drawn back to the Lurker Balloon.

'At least they're safe,' he reasoned, looking to his comm. when it suddenly popped out of his pack and floated in front of him.

"_Jak…"_ it was Vin, his voice extremely weak, _"Kor… Construction… site…"_

The two males shared a look before grabbing the nearest zoomer, speeding off towards the Construction Site. Entering, Jak spotted the Baron and several guards down below, rushing down the ramps after them.

He slid to a stop at the end of the ramp when Kor suddenly dropped from above, Jak's eyes narrowing, "Kor? What's going on?"

"I'm sure you know," Kor replied, turning and approaching the Renegade, "deep down in your _darkest nightmares_," his face turned animalistic before returning to normal, "We've met before, remember?" he turned back towards the Baron, "Everything is going exactly as planned."

The old man gave a sinister laugh as he walked away from all of them, tossing aside his cane and jumping into the air, a pair of insect-like wings sprouting from his back. Several other changes occurred, a tail appearing and his arms becoming much bigger.

"Jak! It's the Metal Head leader!" Daxter yelled, Jak automatically loading his Morph Gun.

"**Now you see! Without the shield wall disrupting my powers inside the city, I am my full potential now!" **Kor laughed,** "So for the last time, give me the Precursor Stone!"**

"If the city must die, then we all die!" The Baron yelled, raising his energy sword and charging, "AGGGGH!"

Kor was un-phased, shooting out a blast of Dark Eco and taking out the guards, Jak barely managing to dodge the blast.

"**I will find that Stone if I have to crush this city one brick at a time!"** Kor flew off to the nest, leaving Jak to rush to where the Baron was pinned and lift the wreckage off him.

The baron coughed, rolling onto his back, "You are the supreme weapon, Jak. And I made you…still, any leader worth his salt… always has his backup plan…" he pressed a button on the remote he held, revealing a bomb with the Precursor Stone attached to the top, "Remember, the first rule in making a bomb… is to always make two!" the Baron fell back, his life fading.

Jak cast one last look at the fallen Baron before running over to the bomb, Daxter leaping from his shoulder, "Ohhhhh ok! I'm going in!"

He jumped inside the bomb, messing around inside it, "Man, what a mess of junk in here! All jumbled coils and switches! Should I unhook the blue wire? Wait a minute… are ottsels colour blind?! Let me just break a few more things and see if anything pops loose… BOOM!" the Precursor Stone popped up, Daxter grinning down at Jak, "Hah, gotcha!" he slid down the side of the bomb, landing on Jak's shoulder, "Like candy from a baby!"

They left the Construction Site, grabbing the nearest zoomer and heading for the Port. There, he jumped off and boarded the Air Train, determined; they needed to take Kor out at any cost. It wasn't long till they reached the Wasteland, the very atmosphere of the place giving off a bad aura. Jak broke out his Scatter gun, taking out the Metal Mantis' that appeared, then switching to the Blaster to take down the Arach-Head down the path.

It wasn't long before they found Mar's gun, the magnificent piece of weaponry strong enough to break into the Metal Head nest.

Ashelin contacted them just as they were taking the lift up to the gun, _"There isn't much hope now. With the Shield Walls destroyed, it's just a matter of time before the Metal Heads overwhelm us. You should just go through the rift back to your own time, Jak, and get away from this horrible place."_

"I see your point," Daxter answered, "Come on, Jak."

"This _place_," Jak slipped the stone into its area, "is worth fighting for!"

"_We'll hold out as long as we can, fare well."_

"Precursor Stone. Gun," Jak turned, grinning wickedly, "Nest."

Daxter jumped on his shoulder again, "Light 'er up, padre!"

"Hahahaha eat this!" Jak growled as the gun went off, blasting a hole in the side of the nest.

"That oughta wake 'em up!"

"Let's go take care of business."

"What?!" Daxter squeaked, "You mean, go in there?! Ahh, I'm right behind you!"

Jak grabbed the Precursor Stone, managing to stuff it back into his pack before once more loading his gun and heading out. He had to fight off several waves of Metal Mantis', Arach-Heads, and dodged numerous Ele-Beasts before he managed to make it to the nest, fighting off another wave of Metal Mantis' there.

Pulling out the Precursor Orb, Jak approached the now open entrance at the back of the Nest, Metal Kor hanging from the ceiling within.

"**Finally, you've decided to join us,"** he moved his tail, revealing the Kid encased in a black energy sphere, **"And you brought the Precursor Stone. Good. The boy will now play his final part."**

"Not this time!"

"**Oh, but this child is such a part of this! Such a part of **_**you**_**! Don't you recognize him?" **Kor smirked,** "The boy is **_**you**_**, Jak! And this place… this is where you began, in the future!"**

"But… how?"

"**You were hidden in the past on the hope that you would gain the skills to face me today. But Onin was wrong! Now that you've been altered with dark eco, the stone will never open for you. Your younger self, however, still has the pure gift! He alone can awaken the Stone and the Precursor entity which sleeps inside!"**

"This stone if a Precursor?" Jak glanced at the glowing orb in surprise.

"**The last Precursor egg! Mar was clever. He covered his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me, and building the shield and city to defend it! It has been a long siege. But today, I will finally feed on the last Precursor Life Force!"**

"Ah, I think you're forgetting one little thing, Metalo-Maniac!" Daxter chose to pipe up, "_We've _ got the Precursor Stone!"

"**Not for long!"** Kor growled, shooting a beam of dark eco at the platform they were standing on, sending them tumbling down to the ground. He scanned the pile of rubble, thinking they were dead.

Dark Jak suddenly burst from under the rubble, snarling and sparking with dark eco.

"**DIE!"** Kor snarled, the battle beginning. Jak didn't move first; he could now control his dark self, and was waiting for the right moment to strike. The metal beast laid several stingers, Jak taking the opportunity to run through them all, now invincible while dark thanks to the oracle.

Once they'd all hatched, he launched himself in the air and slammed down onto the ground, sufficiently taking them all out as well as hitting Kor. Immediately grabbing the Blaster, Jak circled around the room, not stopping so that Kor was unable to get a bead on him. He took down the Stingers as they hatched, pausing when he could to shoot at Kor.

"JAK! STRAFFERS!" Daxter alerted him to the new wave of Metal Heads, Jak growling and continuing on. He had to keep shooting, now taking on Stingers, Straffers and trying to shoot Kor. Eventually, he felt the Dark Eco pulse through him again, Jak giving a snarl as he once more released dark and launched himself into the air, taking out the Straffers, Stingers, and hitting Kor yet again.

The Metal Head Leader gave a growl, dropping down onto the floor to fight himself. Jak had to move even faster this time, waiting until Kor had taken a second to shoot at him in order to return fire, slowly managing to knock down his health. Finally, the metal beast fell, unable to hold himself up.

Kor made a desperate attempt at escaping, flying towards the Precursor Ring and trying to get through it. The energy instead demolished his body, his huge head flying back down onto the ground.

Now awake and free, young Jak blinked, spotting the glowing Precursor Stone and walking over to it. As soon as he touched it he fell back, surprised by the light that exploded from within it.

"Oh man, a Precursor," Jak mumbled, stepping up behind the boy and staring at the glowing being.

"_It is finished,"_ the being spoke, _"Our ancient enemy is no more. Take hope brave one! The terrible darkness inside you is now balanced by a glorious light! We will meet again…"_

The Precursor floated back through the portal just as the Lurker Balloon entered through a hole in the nest, Jak giving a sigh of relief. His friends were safe now.

"Jak!" Tera jumped down when the Lift was close enough, whacking the male over the head, "Don't you _ever _do that to me again, you hear me?!"

"Yah," Jak gave a soft grin, surprising the girl, "I won't."

"We haven't much time," Keira spoke from beside the rift as the balloon lowered, "I've set the coordinates back to our village. Let's go home, everyone."

"But we _are _home." Jak commented.

Samos turned to his daughter, "Keira, I'm afraid your Rift Rider must be used to send young Jak here to a place where he will grow up safe from harm. He must become old enough to complete the destiny he has fulfilled today."

Young Jak went to get up on the rift, but was too short to pull himself up, his older self lifting him up onto it.

"Wait a minute!" the Shadow exclaimed, "It's you! I mean… it's me! I have to take him back and watch over him, don't I? Ah, grub roots! Talk about being in the wrong time at the right place!"

"Hey, kid," Jak bent in front of his younger self, "you take care. Oh, and trust me on this, stay _away_ from any wumpbee nests on your ninth birthday, okay?"

"Wouldn't it be great if we could avoid that incident," Tera snickered, earning a nudge in the side from Jak. She reached out, ruffling the kid's hair, "Be good, ok? I don't want to hear about any misbehaving." The child nodded, giving the teen a hug before pulling back and allowing Jak to place him on the Rift Rider. He pulled the pendant from around his neck, handing it to Jak.

"I sure hope I built this replica right," Keira bit her lip, "I don't know if it…"

"It's perfect, Keira. This is the very machine we found… or will fine, later."

"What?" the girl blinked, "I just built this. After seeing the first one, I mean. It's based on what I remember from-"

"Honey," Daxter cut her off, "the more you think about it, the more it hurts the head!"

"I'll take good care of the child!" Young Samos called as the Rift Rider drifted back towards the Ring, "And don't worry… I'll be back in time for the celebration! Fare well!"

Jak stared at the ring for a minute before turning to the sage, "Thanks Samos. Without you…"

"Its funny," The sage cut him off, "The boy won't remember any of this."

Jak watched the ring fall apart, "No… I do remember the light."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_Your transport is ready, m'lady,"_ Ashelin gave a soft grin at the Lurkers voice on the comm..

"Thank you, Captain Brutter," she flipped the comm. closed, turning to Torn, "Come on… we'll be late for the party at Daxter's new place."

"I've got so much work to do," the commander muttered, "Besides, it's not my thing."

"Ten hut!" Torn was up in an instant, Ashelin circling around behind him, "As the new governor of this city, I order the Commander of the New Krimzon Guard to escort to an official function. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir! I mean, yes ma'am! I mean…"

"You can start rebuilding the city tomorrow. Tonight, we get to celebrate with our new friends," Ashelin smirked, hooking her arms around his shoulders, "Besides, tough guy, I'm dying to see you dance."

Torn's lips twitched, "Not likely."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The doors to the bar swung open, revealing a newly refurbished bar, Daxter turning with a big grin, "Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel! The hippest, happenest, happiest joint in town!"

The bar was packed with all of their friends. Samos, Keira and Jak stood against the main bar, Tera actually sitting on it beside Jak. Onin and Pecker were on one of the extra bars, and Tess and Daxter sat on another one.

"Check out the new décor!" The ottsel grinned, motioning to where Kor's head was now tacked above the bar.

"Ooooh, what a big trophy!" Tess praised.

"As if size matters! I bagged that bad boy myself, baby!"

"Onin says she doesn't know who has a bigger head," Pecker squawked, "Him, or you!"

"We must not forget Vin and all the others who sacrificed their lives to defeat this evil and protect the child," Samos piped, everyone bowing their heads briefly.

Jak pulled the pendant the boy had given him from his pack, staring at it, "I still can't believe… that little boy was me," he gave a weak laugh, "Better times, huh?"

"You miss him already, Jak?" Tera grinned, kicking her legs back and forth, "Never got to see you that young."

"Me either," Keira smiled, poking Jak's nose, "You know, the kid grows up to be a handsome hero!" Tera looked away as her sister went to kiss him, but Daxter interrupted them _again_. Though Jak would never admit it, he was kind of glad he had, the male shuffling a bit closer to Tera as his eyes went to the ottsel.

"Hey! That's enough for you, lady," the ottsel was talking to Onin, "I'm cuttin' ya off!"

Onin simply zapped him, sending him sprawling beside Pecker.

"Trust me, she gets real mean when she's like this!" the monkaw's gaze when back to Onin when she made some symbols, eyes widening.

Daxter sat up, "What'd she say?"

"Something about rubber tubing and certain parts of your mother… you don't wanna know…"

The main door opened suddenly, Daxter screaming when he looked over, "Agghh! A Metal Head!"

Jak's gaze went over, eyes widening, "SIG!"

"SIG!" Daxter echoed, reappearing, "I knew that!"

Jak approached the older man, "You're okay!"

"You cherries didn't think some nasty breathed, giant sized lizard was gonna keep me from the biggest party in town did yah?" the black man laughed.

"I knew you were too tough for 'em, big guy!" Daxter exclaimed, "Come on and join the party!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You saved the city and more, my boy!" Samos spoke as several of the group left the bar to watch the fireworks going up, "Metal Kor and his menace are history, and somewhere out there, an ancient race has begun again. And Tera," the sages eyes went to his adopted daughter, the girl surprised by the look of approval on his face, "I knew I made the right decision when I took you in; you've been a great help to Jak, my dear."

"Thanks, Samos," the girl flushed, giving a small grin.

Jak smirked, reaching down and stroking his croca-dogs head, "I'm just glad to be back home."

"Yeah? Well, rest up," the sage grinned, "We've got a lot to do, and so much time to do it in!"

"Don't say _time_!" Jak cut him off, "The Rift Ring was destroyed, remember?"

Sig stepped up beside the group, "You know, my momma used to read me bedtime stories about Mar when she'd tuck me in. She'd give me a nice glass of warm yakow milk… and my little poopsy bear."

Daxter stared at the wastelander, "Bedtime stories? Warm milk? Poopsy bear?! Buddy, ya just blew your image!"

"I've got a feeling we'll meet Mar someday," Samos looked between the two, "He may be closer then you think."

Sig pulled out the Mars Ruby Key and handed it to Jak, "You're the designated driver!"

"Oh no," the male smirked, holding the key up so Tera could see it, "I am _done_ with adventures. Besides, you'll tell us before something happens next time, right Samos?"

The sage put an innocent look on his face, looking away.

Jak frowned, planting his hands on his hips, "_Right_, Samos?"

"Arrrrk!" their attention was drawn to Pecker, "You never know what the future may hold!"

"Wait…" Daxter narrowed his eyes at the bird, "you know something, don't ya feather breath?"

"Who? Me? Ah… no! We're just, ah… guessing, right Samos? Today, tomorrow… only time will tell!"

"No! You're gonna tell, right now!" the ottsel gave a yell, launching himself at the monkaw.

"AAAGGGH! Why you little…"

"Ooooh, dirty fighting! Dirty fighting!"

Tera and Jak glanced at each other, rolling their eyes with a laugh. Some things would never change.

Finally, Sig reached down, grabbing both of them by their tails.

"Jak, my boy," Samos put a hand on the males arm, "The future, awaits!"

"Yah," Jak glanced back at Tera, "I know."


End file.
